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 global success with their cover of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in 1984, and their debut album their initial full-length release 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 rest 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.
Recent Health Challenges
At 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 damage myself quite a bit," he commented in 2023. "I broke lower vertebrae in my back and fractured about multiple ribs and fractured my wrist."
Following contracting pneumonia and developing blood poisoning, he was placed in an medically-induced sleep and remained in hospital for seven months.
However, he had been in "high spirits mentally" over the warmer months, as he was developing a new album with Almond, titled the upcoming Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication in the coming year.
"He was focused and very pleased with the latest project that we literally finished only a few days ago," said the vocalist in a tribute.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was all set to be such an positive year for him, and I take some solace from the fact that he heard the completed album and believed that it was a great piece of work."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond referred to his bandmate as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", stating: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our legacy.
"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."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, also paid tribute, recalling Ball's "endless laughter" and "steadfast support".
"Being in a duo with someone is different from being in a band, the connection is incredibly close," he continued.
"That's how it was with us. We experienced so many remarkable, extraordinary, memorable moments together. Many thanks, Dave."
Formative Years
Brought into the world into a single-parent household in the city of Chester in 1959, Ball was put up for adoption when he was 18 months of age.
He grew up in the seaside town with his new family Donald and Brenda Ball, who altered his given name from his birth name to his adopted name, alongside his sibling his sister, who was similarly welcomed.
He encountered Almond at an art college in the late 70s, where they were both studying art. Fuelled by a mutual passion of Northern Soul, they formed Soft Cell the very year, and quickly produced an EP.
Creative Collaboration
The duo were an distinctive pairing: Ball was the quiet technician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a charismatic showman, all glitter and eye-liner; but they attained a rare musical alchemy.
Ball had developed a fascination with synthesizers after watching Kraftwerk perform on BBC science show Tomorrow's World, and began to marry 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 millions of units globally. Alongside successful tracks 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, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which spawned two additional high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the album up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which peaked at number two in the following year.
Career Highlights
Fame had its benefits. "I loved being able to afford my initial property, having financial security and travelling, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball not long ago shared with a music magazine.
But it also presented problems. "Sudden riches allowed we could purchase newfound drugs to alleviate the monotony" of media interviews and television shows, Ball said.
"I realize that's a common saying, but it's a truism for a valid cause, because it works for so many musicians."
Amidst the party-filled existence, the pair were also growing distant, but they succeeded to produce a follow-up classic album - the unconventional, edgy and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released another LP, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group to focus on other projects.
Almond went on to have a prosperous individual path, featuring the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who combined acid house with melodic sounds over a enduring partnership.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell came back together in the early 2000s, producing the charting record Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following a further hiatus, they reappeared in 2018, releasing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was supposed to be a farewell show at the large venue on 30 September, that year.
Yet, they stayed active, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.
Ball recently characterized the duo's new album as a tribute to the New York club scene they visited while making their first two albums.
He noted that his time in hospital had shaped the band's sound.
"I had unusual memories when I was coming and going of hospital because I was on morphine," he told a publication.
"Our latest tracks are a electronic representation of the noises in my mind from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences me and Marc had in the 80s."
The final mixes were finished only a short time before Ball died. It is scheduled for launch in the spring of 2026.
