Dave Ball, a key member of the groundbreaking 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the duo achieved a worldwide hit with their version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their debut album their initial full-length release is considered a seminal work of synth-pop.
He subsequently founded the innovative electronic act The Grid, who achieved popular acclaim with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his sleep at his residence in London on Wednesday 22 October, only a short time after performing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in Henley-on-Thames.
Health Struggles
During that performance, Ball performed in a wheelchair, as he had for the previous couple of years, following a period of health issues.
"I managed to damage myself quite a bit," he commented in 2023. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my back and cracked about multiple ribs and broke my wrist."
Following contracting pneumonia and developing sepsis, he was placed in an medically-induced sleep and stayed in hospital for seven months.
Nevertheless, he had been in "a great place emotionally" over the warmer months, as he worked on a new album with Almond, called Danceteria, which is set for release in the coming year.
"He was focused and very pleased with the new album that we actually finished only a short time ago," said the vocalist in a heartfelt message.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was completely planned to be such an uplifting time for him, and I find comfort from the fact that he listened to the completed album and felt that it was a great piece of work."
Tributes
Almond described his collaborator as "an exceptionally talented creative mastermind", stating: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our body of work.
"Many thanks Dave for being an immense part of my life and for the songs you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without your influence."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, also paid tribute, remembering Ball's "constant humor" and "unwavering friendship".
"Forming a duo with someone is distinct from joining a band, the bond is very tight," he continued.
"That was the case with us. We went through so many remarkable, extraordinary, life-affirming moments together. Thank you, Dave."
Formative Years
Born into a one-parent family in Chester in 1959, Ball was put up for adoption when he was a year and a half old.
He grew up in Blackpool with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his given name from his birth name to his adopted name, together with his younger sister his sister, who was similarly welcomed.
He encountered Almond at an art college in the late 70s, where they were both learning fine arts. Fuelled by a mutual passion of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the same year, and quickly recorded an EP.
Creative Collaboration
The pair were an distinctive combination: Ball was the quiet technician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they achieved a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had developed a interest with synthesizers after watching Kraftwerk perform on a television program Tomorrow's World, and began to combine dark electronica to the catchy tunes Almond was composing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling song of 1981, selling millions of copies worldwide. Alongside hits by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it helped cleared the way for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The track was also featured on their first album, their initial LP, which produced two additional top five hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the record up with the separate release, Torch, which peaked at the second position in 1982.
Professional Journey
Success had its upsides. "I loved being able to purchase my initial property, having money and exploring, which makes me sound like a Miss World," Ball not long ago told with a music magazine.
But it also caused problems. "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 cliché for a valid cause, because it works for so many musicians."
During the party-filled existence, the duo were also drifting apart, but they succeeded to produce a second memorable record - the wayward, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released another album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the band to focus on other projects.
Almond went on to have a successful solo career, featuring the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who combined dance music with melodic sounds over a long-lasting partnership.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell came back together in the early 2000s, releasing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.
After a further hiatus, they returned in 2018, releasing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was supposed to be a final performance at the large venue on 30 September, that year.
Yet, they stayed together, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic restrictions.
Ball recently characterized the duo's new album as a homage to the New York club scene they frequented while making their first two albums.
He added that his period in medical care had shaped the group's music.
"I experienced strange recollections when I was in and out of the hospital because I was on pain medication," he explained to a publication.
"Our latest tracks are a digital reflection of the noises in my mind from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the times we got up to in the 1980s."
The final mixes were completed only days before Ball died. It is due for launch in the spring of 2026.
