Dave Ball, a key member of the innovative 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Alongside vocalist Marc Almond, the team scored a worldwide hit with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in 1984, and their debut album their initial full-length release is regarded as a classic of synth-pop.
He later formed the innovative techno group The Grid, who achieved popular acclaim with their 1994 single Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully in his sleep at his home in London on October 22, only a short time after playing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in Henley-on-Thames.
Recent Health Challenges
At that show, Ball performed in a wheelchair, as he had for the previous couple of years, after a period of health issues.
"I managed to injure myself quite a bit," he commented in 2023. "I broke lower vertebrae in my back and cracked about multiple ribs and broke my wrist."
Following contracting a lung infection and developing blood poisoning, he was placed in an medically-induced sleep and stayed in hospital for seven months.
Nevertheless, he had been in "high spirits emotionally" during the summer, as he was developing a fresh record with Almond, called the upcoming Danceteria, which is scheduled for release in the coming year.
"He was focused and very pleased with the new album that we literally completed 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 uplifting year for him, and I take some solace from the fact that he heard the completed album and believed that it was a masterpiece."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond referred to his bandmate as "an exceptionally talented creative mastermind", stating: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our legacy.
"Many thanks Dave for being an immense aspect of my life and for the music you gave me. I wouldn't be where I am without you."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, also paid tribute, remembering Ball's "endless laughter" and "unwavering friendship".
"Being in a partnership with someone is different from joining a band, the bond is incredibly close," he added.
"That's how it was with us. We went through so many extraordinary, incredible, life-affirming moments as a team. Thank you, Dave."
Formative Years
Brought into the world into a one-parent family in Chester in 1959, Ball was put up for adoption when he was 18 months old.
He grew up in Blackpool with his new family Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his given name from Paul to his adopted name, alongside his younger sister Susan, who was similarly welcomed.
He encountered Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both learning fine arts. Fuelled by a mutual passion of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the very year, and quickly produced an EP.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an unusual pairing: Ball was the reserved musician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant showman, all glitter and makeup; but they attained a rare creative synergy.
Ball had developed a interest with electronic instruments after viewing the band Kraftwerk appear on a television science show a popular series, and began to combine dark electronica to the catchy tunes Almond was composing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second most popular single of the early 80s, shifting 21 million copies globally. Together with successful tracks by other artists, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it helped cleared the way for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.
The song was also included on their full-length debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which produced two additional high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the record up with the separate release, Torch, which peaked at number two in the following year.
Career Highlights
Success had its upsides. "I enjoyed being able to afford my initial property, having money and travelling, which makes me sound like a Miss World," Ball recently shared with a music magazine.
But it also presented problems. "Sudden riches allowed we could afford substances to alleviate the monotony" of media interviews and television shows, Ball explained.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a good reason, because it applies for so many bands."
During the party-filled existence, the duo were also growing distant, but they managed to produce a second classic album - the unconventional, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released one more LP, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the band to focus on individual endeavors.
Almond proceeded to have a successful 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 melodic sounds over a enduring partnership.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell came back together in 2001, producing the Top 40 album Cruelty Without Beauty.
After a further hiatus, they returned in recent years, 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 September 30, 2018.
Yet, they stayed active, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.
Ball lately characterized the band's upcoming release as a tribute to the New York club scene they frequented while making their initial records.
He noted that his time in hospital had shaped the group's music.
"I had strange recollections when I was in and out of the hospital because I was on morphine," he explained to a music magazine.
"Our latest tracks are a digital reflection of the sounds in my mind from those days.
"In parallel, it's about the experiences me and Marc got up to in the 80s."
The last versions were finished only days before Ball died. It is due for launch in the spring of 2026.
