Dave Ball, a key member of the innovative 1980s synth-pop duo Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Together with singer Marc Almond, the pair scored a global success with their cover of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in 1984, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a classic of electronic music.
He subsequently founded the pioneering electronic act The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with their 1994 single Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his sleep at his home in London on October 22, just weeks after performing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in Henley-on-Thames.
Health Struggles
During that show, Ball performed in a wheelchair, as he had for the previous couple of years, following a spate of ill-health.
"I managed to injure myself significantly," he commented in a recent interview. "I broke lower vertebrae in my spine and fractured about five ribs and fractured my arm."
Following contracting a lung infection and developing sepsis, he was placed in an medically-induced sleep and remained in hospital for seven months.
However, he had been in "a great place emotionally" during the warmer months, as he was developing a new album with Almond, called the upcoming Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication next year.
"He was concentrated and very pleased with the latest project that we actually finished only a short time ago," said the vocalist in a heartfelt message.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was all set to be such an uplifting time for him, and I find comfort from the knowledge that he heard the completed album and believed that it was a great piece of work."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond referred to his collaborator as "an exceptionally talented musical genius", adding: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our legacy.
"Thank you Dave for being an immense aspect of my existence and for the music you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without you."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, shared his condolences, recalling Ball's "endless laughter" and "unwavering friendship".
"Being in a duo with someone is distinct from joining a group, the bond is incredibly close," he added.
"That was the case with us. We went through so many extraordinary, extraordinary, life-affirming moments as a team. Thank you, Dave."
Formative Years
Brought into the world into a one-parent family 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, alongside his younger sister his sister, who was also adopted.
He met 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 established Soft Cell the same year, and promptly produced an EP.
Creative Collaboration
The pair were an distinctive pairing: Ball was the reserved musician, hunched over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all glitter and makeup; but they attained a unique creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with electronic instruments after watching the band Kraftwerk perform on BBC science show a popular series, and began to combine dark electronica to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling song of the early 80s, selling millions of units worldwide. Together with hits by other artists, Human League and Ultravox, it helped paved the way for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The track was also included on their full-length debut, their initial LP, which spawned two further high-charting hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the record up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at the second position in the following year.
Career Highlights
Fame had its benefits. "I enjoyed being able to afford my initial property, having financial security and travelling, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball recently shared with a music magazine.
But it also presented challenges. "Newfound wealth meant we could afford newfound drugs to alleviate the monotony" of press appearances and television shows, Ball said.
"I know that's a common saying, but it's a cliché for a good reason, because it works for so many musicians."
Amidst the hedonistic lifestyle, the pair were also growing distant, but they managed to create a follow-up memorable record - the unconventional, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released another LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group to focus on individual endeavors.
Almond proceeded to have a prosperous solo career, featuring the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who mixed dance music with ambient pop over a long-lasting collaboration.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell came back together in the early 2000s, producing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following another hiatus, they reappeared in recent years, releasing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was supposed to be a final performance at the large venue on 30 September, that year.
Yet, they stayed active, recording their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic restrictions.
Ball lately described the band's upcoming release as a homage to the NYC nightlife they visited while recording their first two albums.
He added that his period in medical care had influenced the group's music.
"I experienced unusual memories when I was coming and going of hospital because I was on morphine," he told a publication.
"Our latest tracks are a digital reflection of the sounds in my head from those days.
"In parallel, it's about the times me and Marc had in the 1980s."
The last versions were completed only a short time before Ball died. It is due for release in the spring of 2026.
