Dave Ball, a key member of the groundbreaking 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Alongside vocalist Marc Almond, the pair achieved a worldwide hit with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record their initial full-length release is considered a classic of synth-pop.
He subsequently formed the pioneering electronic act The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with 1994's Swamp Thing.
Ball died peacefully in his sleep at his residence in London on October 22, just weeks after performing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in the Thames-side town.
Recent Health Challenges
At that performance, Ball appeared in a wheelchair, as he had for the previous couple of years, following a period of health issues.
"I managed to injure myself quite a bit," he stated in a recent interview. "I broke spinal bones in my back and cracked about multiple ribs and fractured my wrist."
Following catching pneumonia and suffering from blood poisoning, he was put in an induced coma and stayed in hospital for seven months.
Nevertheless, he had been in "high spirits mentally" over the warmer months, as he was developing a fresh record with Almond, called Danceteria, which is scheduled for release next 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 tribute.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was completely planned to be such an uplifting time for him, and I take some solace from the knowledge that he listened to the finished record and felt that it was a masterpiece."
Tributes
Almond referred to his collaborator as "an exceptionally talented creative mastermind", stating: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our body of work.
"Thank you Dave for being an significant aspect of my existence and for the music you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without you."
Richard Norris from The Grid, shared his condolences, recalling Ball's "endless laughter" and "steadfast support".
"Being in a duo with someone is different from joining a group, the bond is incredibly close," he added.
"That's how it was with us. We went through so many remarkable, extraordinary, memorable experiences together. Thank you, Dave."
Formative Years
Brought into the world into a one-parent family in Chester in the late 50s, Ball was given up for adoption when he was 18 months old.
He grew up in the seaside town with adoptive parents his caregivers, who changed his first name from his birth name to David, together with his younger sister his sister, who was also adopted.
He encountered Almond at an art college in the late 70s, where they were both studying fine arts. Fuelled by a mutual passion of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and quickly recorded an EP.
Creative Collaboration
The pair were an unusual combination: Ball was the quiet musician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant showman, all glitter and eye-liner; but they attained a rare creative synergy.
Ball had developed a fascination with electronic instruments after watching the band Kraftwerk perform on a television science show a popular series, and started to combine moody electronic sounds to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.
Their signature song became the UK's second biggest-selling single of the early 80s, selling 21 million units worldwide. Alongside successful tracks by other artists, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it helped paved the way for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The song was also included on their first album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which produced two additional top five singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the album up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which reached at number two in the following year.
Professional Journey
Success had its benefits. "I loved being able to afford my initial property, having money and exploring, which makes me sound like a Miss World," Ball recently told with a publication.
But it also presented problems. "Sudden riches meant we could afford newfound drugs to alleviate the boredom" of press appearances and television shows, Ball said.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a good reason, because it applies for so many bands."
During the party-filled existence, the duo were also growing distant, but they managed to produce a second memorable record - the unconventional, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out another album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group to concentrate on other projects.
Almond went on to have a successful individual path, including the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who mixed dance music with melodic sounds over a enduring collaboration.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell reunited in 2001, producing the charting record Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following another hiatus, they returned in recent years, releasing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was supposed to be a farewell show at the large venue on September 30, 2018.
However, they remained together, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.
Ball recently described the duo's upcoming release as a homage to the NYC nightlife they frequented while recording their initial records.
He noted that his time in medical care had influenced the band's sound.
"I experienced unusual memories when I was in and out of hospital because I was on pain medication," he told a publication.
"Our latest tracks are a digital reflection of the sounds in my head from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences me and Marc got up to in the 1980s."
The final mixes were completed only days before Ball died. It is due for release in Spring 2026.
