Dave Ball, a key member of the innovative 1980s synth-pop duo Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Alongside vocalist Marc Almond, the team achieved a global success with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a seminal work of electronic music.
He later formed the pioneering techno group The Grid, who achieved chart success with 1994's Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his rest at his home in London on Wednesday 22 October, just weeks after performing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in the Thames-side town.
Recent Health Challenges
During that show, Ball appeared in a mobility chair, as he had for the previous couple of years, after a spate of health issues.
"I ended up damage myself significantly," he stated in a recent interview. "I fractured spinal bones in my spine and fractured about multiple ribs and broke my arm."
After contracting pneumonia and developing sepsis, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and stayed in hospital for half a year.
However, he had been in "a great place emotionally" during the summer, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, titled the upcoming Danceteria, which is scheduled for release next year.
"He was focused and so happy with the new album that we actually completed only a short time ago," said the vocalist in a heartfelt message.
"It's so sad as next year was all set to be such an uplifting time for him, and I find comfort from the fact that he heard the completed album and believed that it was a masterpiece."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond referred to his collaborator as "an exceptionally talented creative mastermind", stating: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our body of work.
"Many thanks Dave for being an immense aspect of my existence and for the songs you created with me. I wouldn't be where I am without your influence."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, also paid tribute, remembering Ball's "endless laughter" and "steadfast support".
"Being in a duo with someone is different from being in a band, the connection is very tight," he added.
"That was the case with us. We went through so many extraordinary, extraordinary, memorable experiences together. Thank you, Dave."
Early Life
Born into a one-parent family in the city of Chester in 1959, Ball was given up for adoption when he was a year and a half of age.
He was raised in Blackpool with his new family Donald and Brenda Ball, who altered his given name from Paul to his adopted name, together with his younger sister Susan, who was also adopted.
He met Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both studying art. Fuelled by a mutual passion of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and promptly recorded an EP.
Creative Collaboration
The duo were an unusual pairing: Ball was the quiet musician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a charismatic showman, all glitter and eye-liner; but they attained a rare creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with electronic instruments after watching Kraftwerk perform on a television science show Tomorrow's World, and started to marry moody electronic sounds to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second most popular song of the early 80s, selling millions of units worldwide. Alongside successful tracks by other artists, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it contributed to cleared the way for the electronic music style of the 80s.
The song was also included on their first album, their initial LP, which spawned two further high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the record up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which peaked 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 travelling, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball not long ago told with a publication.
But it also caused challenges. "Newfound wealth meant we could purchase substances to alleviate the boredom" of media interviews and television shows, Ball said.
"I know that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a good reason, because it applies for so many musicians."
Amidst the hedonistic lifestyle, the duo were also growing distant, but they succeeded to produce a second classic album - the unconventional, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out another album, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the group to focus on individual endeavors.
Almond proceeded to have a prosperous individual path, featuring the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who mixed acid house with melodic sounds over a enduring partnership.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, producing the charting record Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following another break, they reappeared 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 large venue on 30 September, that year.
Yet, they stayed together, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.
Ball lately described the duo's new album as a tribute to the NYC nightlife they frequented while recording their initial records.
He noted that his time in hospital had shaped the group's music.
"I experienced unusual memories when I was in and out of the hospital because I was on pain medication," he told a music magazine.
"Our latest tracks are a digital reflection of the sounds in my mind from that time.
"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences we had in the 1980s."
The final mixes were finished only a short time before Ball died. It is due for release in Spring 2026.
