Dave Ball, a key member of the pioneering 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Together with singer Marc Almond, the duo achieved a global success with their version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in 1984, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a classic of synth-pop.
He subsequently founded the innovative techno group The Grid, who secured chart success with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his sleep at his residence in London on October 22, only a short time after playing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in Henley-on-Thames.
Recent Health Challenges
During that show, Ball performed in a wheelchair, as he had for the last two years, following a spate of health issues.
"I ended up injure myself quite a bit," he commented in 2023. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my spine and fractured about multiple ribs and broke my wrist."
Following catching a lung infection and suffering from sepsis, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and stayed in hospital for seven months.
Nevertheless, he had been in "a great place mentally" during the summer, as he was developing a new album with Almond, titled the upcoming Danceteria, which is set for release in the coming year.
"He was concentrated and very pleased with the latest project that we literally completed only a short time ago," said the singer in a heartfelt message.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was completely planned to be such an positive time for him, and I take some solace from the knowledge that he heard the completed album and felt that it was a masterpiece."
Tributes
Almond referred to his bandmate as "an exceptionally talented creative mastermind", adding: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our body of work.
"Many thanks Dave for being an immense aspect of my existence and for the songs you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without you."
Richard Norris from The Grid, shared his condolences, remembering Ball's "constant humor" and "unwavering friendship".
"Forming a duo with someone is different from joining a band, the bond is very tight," he added.
"That's how it was with us. We went through so many remarkable, incredible, memorable moments as a team. Many thanks, Dave."
Formative Years
Born into a single-parent household in the city of Chester in the late 50s, Ball was given up for adoption when he was a year and a half of age.
He was raised in Blackpool with adoptive parents his caregivers, who changed his first name from Paul to David, together with his younger sister his sister, who was similarly welcomed.
He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both studying fine arts. Fuelled by a mutual passion of Northern Soul, they formed Soft Cell the very year, and promptly produced an EP.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an unusual combination: Ball was the quiet musician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all sparkle and makeup; but they achieved a unique creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with electronic instruments after viewing the band Kraftwerk perform on BBC program a popular series, and started to marry moody electronic sounds to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second biggest-selling song of the early 80s, selling 21 million copies worldwide. Together with successful tracks by other artists, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it contributed to cleared the path for the electronic music style of the 80s.
The song was also featured on their first album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which produced two further top five singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the record up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which peaked at number two in 1982.
Career Highlights
Success had its upsides. "I loved being able to afford my initial property, having financial security and travelling, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball recently shared with a music magazine.
But it also presented challenges. "Newfound wealth meant we could purchase newfound drugs to alleviate the boredom" of press appearances and TV performances, Ball explained.
"I know that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a valid cause, because it applies for so many bands."
During the party-filled existence, the duo were also growing distant, but they managed to create a follow-up memorable record - the unconventional, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out one more LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band to focus on other projects.
Almond went on to have a successful solo career, featuring the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who combined acid house with ambient pop over a enduring collaboration.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, releasing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.
After another hiatus, they returned in 2018, issuing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was intended to be a farewell show at the O2 Arena on September 30, 2018.
Yet, they remained together, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.
Ball lately described the band's upcoming release as a homage to the NYC nightlife they visited while making their initial records.
He added that his time in medical care had influenced the group's music.
"I had unusual memories when I was in and out of the hospital because I was on pain medication," he told a music magazine.
"Our latest tracks are a electronic representation of the sounds in my mind from that time.
"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences me and Marc had in the 1980s."
The final mixes were finished only days before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for launch in the spring of 2026.
