Dave Ball, a key member of the innovative 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Together with singer Marc Almond, the duo scored a worldwide hit with their version of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in 1984, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a seminal work of synth-pop.
He subsequently founded the innovative techno group The Grid, who secured chart success with their 1994 single the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball died peacefully in his sleep at his home in London on October 22, only a short time after performing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in Henley-on-Thames.
Recent Health Challenges
At that performance, Ball appeared in a mobility chair, as he had for the last two years, after a spate of health issues.
"I managed to injure myself quite a bit," he stated in a recent interview. "I broke lower vertebrae in my spine and cracked about multiple ribs and fractured my wrist."
Following contracting a lung infection and developing blood poisoning, he was put in an induced coma and stayed in hospital for seven months.
Nevertheless, he had been in "high spirits mentally" during the warmer months, as he was developing a new album with Almond, titled the upcoming Danceteria, which is scheduled for release next year.
"He was concentrated and very pleased with the latest project that we literally finished only a few days ago," stated the singer in a heartfelt message.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was completely planned to be such an positive time for him, and I take some solace from the fact that he heard the completed album and felt that it was a great piece of work."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond referred to his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant musical genius", stating: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our body of work.
"Many thanks Dave for being an immense aspect of my existence and for the songs you gave me. I couldn't be where I am without your influence."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, shared his condolences, remembering Ball's "endless laughter" and "unwavering friendship".
"Being in a duo with someone is different from joining a group, the connection is very tight," he added.
"That's how it was with us. We went through so many remarkable, extraordinary, life-affirming experiences together. Many thanks, Dave."
Formative Years
Born into a one-parent family in the city of Chester in 1959, Ball was put up for adoption when he was a year and a half of age.
He grew up in the seaside town with adoptive parents his caregivers, who changed his given name from Paul to David, alongside his sibling his sister, who was similarly welcomed.
He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both learning fine arts. Fuelled by a mutual passion of Northern Soul, they established Soft Cell the very year, and promptly produced an extended play.
Creative Collaboration
The duo were an unusual pairing: Ball was the quiet technician, hunched over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all glitter and makeup; but they attained a rare musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with synthesizers after viewing the band Kraftwerk perform on a television science show a popular series, and started to combine dark electronica to the catchy tunes Almond was composing.
Their signature song became the UK's second biggest-selling single of 1981, shifting 21 million copies globally. Together with successful tracks by Gary Numan, Human League and Ultravox, it helped cleared the path for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The song was also featured on their first album, their initial LP, which spawned two additional top five hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the album up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at the second position in 1982.
Career Highlights
Success had its upsides. "I enjoyed being able to afford my first home, having financial security and exploring, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball recently told with a music magazine.
But it also presented challenges. "Newfound wealth allowed we could afford substances to relieve the boredom" of press appearances and TV performances, Ball explained.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a valid cause, because it works for so many bands."
Amidst the hedonistic lifestyle, the pair were also growing distant, but they succeeded to create a second classic album - the wayward, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released one more album, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the band to focus on individual endeavors.
Almond went on to have a successful individual path, including the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who combined acid house with melodic sounds over a long-lasting partnership.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell came back together in 2001, producing the Top 40 album Cruelty Without Beauty.
After a further break, they reappeared in 2018, releasing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was intended to be a final performance at the large venue on September 30, 2018.
However, they stayed active, recording their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.
Ball lately described the band's upcoming release as a homage to the New York club scene they visited while recording their first two albums.
He added that his time in medical care had shaped the band's sound.
"I had strange recollections when I was in and out of hospital because I was on morphine," he explained to a publication.
"The new songs are a digital reflection of the noises in my head from that time.
"In parallel, it's about the times we got up to in the 80s."
The final mixes were completed only days before Ball died. It is scheduled for release in the spring of 2026.
