Dave Ball, a key member of the innovative 1980s synth-pop band Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the duo scored a worldwide hit with their cover of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a classic of electronic music.
He subsequently formed the pioneering techno group The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with 1994's Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully in his rest at his residence in London on Wednesday 22 October, only a short time after performing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in Henley-on-Thames.
Health Struggles
At that show, Ball appeared in a mobility chair, as he had for the previous couple of years, following a spate of health issues.
"I ended up injure myself significantly," he stated in 2023. "I fractured spinal bones in my back and cracked about five ribs and broke my arm."
After contracting a lung infection and developing sepsis, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and remained in hospital for seven months.
However, he had been in "high spirits emotionally" over the summer, as he was developing a new album with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is scheduled for release next year.
"He was focused and so happy with the new album that we actually completed only a few days ago," said 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 listened to the finished record and believed that it was a masterpiece."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond described his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", adding: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our body of work.
"Thank you Dave for being an immense aspect of my life 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, recalling Ball's "constant humor" and "unwavering friendship".
"Forming a duo with someone is different from being in a group, the bond is very tight," he added.
"That's how it was with us. We went through so many remarkable, extraordinary, life-affirming moments as a team. Many thanks, Dave."
Formative Years
Born into a single-parent household in Chester in the late 50s, Ball was given up for adoption when he was a year and a half of age.
He was raised in Blackpool with adoptive parents his caregivers, who altered his given name from Paul to David, together with his sibling his sister, who was similarly welcomed.
He met Almond at an art college in the late 70s, where they were both learning fine arts. Fuelled by a shared love of Northern Soul, they established Soft Cell the same year, and promptly recorded an EP.
Musical Partnership
The duo were an unusual combination: Ball was the quiet technician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all glitter and makeup; but they achieved a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had developed a interest with synthesizers after viewing the band Kraftwerk perform on a television program a popular series, and started to combine moody electronic sounds to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second biggest-selling single of 1981, selling millions of copies worldwide. Together with successful tracks by other artists, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it helped cleared the way for the synth-pop sound of the 80s.
The track was also included on their first album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which spawned two further top five hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the record up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which reached at the second position in the following year.
Professional Journey
Fame had its upsides. "I enjoyed being able to afford my first home, having financial security and travelling, which might seem like a beauty queen," Ball not long ago shared with a publication.
But it also presented problems. "Sudden riches allowed we could purchase newfound drugs to alleviate the monotony" of media interviews and TV performances, Ball said.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a good reason, because it works for so many bands."
During the hedonistic lifestyle, the duo were also growing distant, but they succeeded to produce a follow-up classic album - the wayward, edgy and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out one more album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the group to focus on individual endeavors.
Almond went on to have a prosperous individual path, featuring the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who mixed acid house with melodic sounds over a enduring collaboration.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell came back together in the early 2000s, releasing the charting album Cruelty Without Beauty.
After a further hiatus, they returned in recent years, issuing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was supposed to be a farewell show at the O2 Arena on September 30, 2018.
However, they stayed together, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic restrictions.
Ball recently described the band's upcoming release as a homage to the NYC nightlife they visited while making their first two albums.
He noted that his period in medical care had shaped the band's sound.
"I experienced unusual memories when I was in and out of the hospital because I was on pain medication," he told a music magazine.
"The new songs are a digital reflection of the noises in my mind from those days.
"In parallel, it's about the times me and Marc had in the 80s."
The final mixes were completed only a short time before Ball died. It is scheduled for launch in the spring of 2026.
