Dave Ball, a key member of the groundbreaking 1980s synth-pop duo Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the duo achieved a global success with their version of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a seminal work of electronic music.
He later founded the pioneering techno group The Grid, who achieved chart success with their 1994 single Swamp Thing.
Ball died peacefully in his sleep at his residence in London on October 22, just weeks after performing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in the Thames-side town.
Health Struggles
During that show, Ball appeared in a wheelchair, as he had for the last two years, following a spate of ill-health.
"I ended up damage myself significantly," he stated in a recent interview. "I broke spinal bones in my spine and cracked about five ribs and broke my wrist."
After catching a lung infection and suffering from blood poisoning, he was put in an induced coma and remained in the hospital for half a year.
Nevertheless, he had been in "a great place emotionally" during the summer, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is scheduled for release in the coming year.
"He was focused and so happy with the new album that we literally finished only a few days ago," stated the singer in a tribute.
"It's so sad as next year was all set to be such an uplifting year for him, and I find comfort from the fact that he listened to the finished record and felt that it was a masterpiece."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond described his collaborator as "an exceptionally talented creative mastermind", adding: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our body of work.
"Many thanks Dave for being an significant part 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, also paid tribute, remembering Ball's "endless laughter" and "steadfast support".
"Being in a partnership with someone is distinct from joining a band, the connection is incredibly close," he added.
"That was the case with us. We experienced so many remarkable, extraordinary, memorable moments as a team. Many thanks, Dave."
Formative Years
Born 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 his new family his caregivers, who altered his given name from Paul to David, alongside his younger sister his sister, who was also adopted.
He encountered Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both studying fine arts. Fuelled by a mutual passion of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the very year, and promptly produced an EP.
Musical Partnership
The duo were an distinctive combination: Ball was the reserved musician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant showman, all glitter and eye-liner; but they achieved a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with electronic instruments after viewing the band Kraftwerk perform on BBC program Tomorrow's World, and started to marry dark electronica to the catchy tunes Almond was composing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second most popular single of the early 80s, selling 21 million units globally. Alongside hits by other artists, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it contributed to paved the way for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.
The track was also included on their first album, their initial LP, which produced two further top five hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the album up with the separate release, Torch, which peaked at number two in the following year.
Career Highlights
Success had its benefits. "I loved being able to purchase my initial property, having money and travelling, which might seem like a beauty queen," Ball recently told with a publication.
But it also caused problems. "Sudden riches allowed we could afford newfound drugs to relieve the boredom" of press appearances and television shows, Ball explained.
"I know that's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a good reason, because it works for so many bands."
Amidst the hedonistic lifestyle, the pair were also drifting apart, but they managed to create a second classic album - the unconventional, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released one more album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band to concentrate on other projects.
Almond went on 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 combined acid house with ambient pop over a enduring collaboration.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell came back together in the early 2000s, producing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.
After another break, they returned in 2018, issuing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was supposed to be a farewell show at the O2 Arena on 30 September, that year.
However, they stayed together, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic restrictions.
Ball recently described the band's upcoming release as a tribute to the New York club scene they visited while making their initial records.
He added that his period in hospital had shaped the band's sound.
"I had unusual memories when I was coming and going of hospital because I was on pain medication," he told a publication.
"The new songs are a electronic representation of the noises in my head from that time.
"Simultaneously, it's about the times me and Marc got up to in the 1980s."
The last versions were finished only a short time before Ball died. It is scheduled for launch in Spring 2026.
