Dave Ball, a key member of the groundbreaking 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the duo achieved a worldwide hit with their cover of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in 1984, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a seminal work of synth-pop.
He subsequently founded the pioneering electronic act The Grid, who achieved popular acclaim with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his rest at his home in London on Wednesday 22 October, only a short time after playing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in Henley-on-Thames.
Health Struggles
During that show, Ball appeared in a mobility chair, as he had for the previous couple of years, after a period of ill-health.
"I managed to damage myself quite a bit," he commented in a recent interview. "I broke lower vertebrae in my spine and fractured about multiple ribs and fractured my arm."
After contracting a lung infection and suffering from sepsis, he was placed in an medically-induced sleep and stayed in hospital for seven months.
Nevertheless, he had been in "a great place mentally" over the warmer months, as he was developing a new album with Almond, called Danceteria, which is set for publication next year.
"He was concentrated and so happy with the latest project that we literally completed only a short time ago," stated the singer in a tribute.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was all set to be such an positive year for him, and I find comfort from the knowledge that he heard the completed album and believed that it was a great piece of work."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond described his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", stating: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our legacy.
"Thank you Dave for being an immense part of my life and for the music you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without your influence."
Richard Norris from The Grid, shared his condolences, remembering Ball's "endless laughter" and "unwavering friendship".
"Being in a partnership with someone is distinct from being in a band, the connection is very tight," he continued.
"That's how it was with us. We went through so many remarkable, extraordinary, memorable moments as a team. Many thanks, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a single-parent household in 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 Donald and Brenda Ball, who altered his first name from his birth name to David, together with his sibling Susan, who was also adopted.
He encountered Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both studying fine arts. Fuelled by a shared love of Northern Soul, they established Soft Cell the very year, and promptly recorded an EP.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an distinctive combination: Ball was the quiet musician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant showman, all glitter and eye-liner; but they achieved a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with synthesizers after viewing the band Kraftwerk perform on BBC program Tomorrow's World, and started to marry dark electronica to the catchy tunes Almond was composing.
Their signature song became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling song of 1981, shifting millions of copies globally. Alongside hits by other artists, Human League and Ultravox, it helped cleared the way for the synth-pop sound of the 80s.
The song was also included on their first album, their initial LP, which spawned two further top five singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the album up with the separate release, Torch, which peaked at number two in 1982.
Professional Journey
Success had its upsides. "I enjoyed being able to purchase my first home, having money and travelling, which might seem like a beauty queen," Ball recently told with a music magazine.
But it also caused problems. "Newfound wealth allowed we could afford newfound drugs to relieve the monotony" of press appearances and television shows, Ball said.
"I know that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a valid cause, because it applies for so many musicians."
During the hedonistic lifestyle, the duo were also drifting apart, but they managed to create a follow-up memorable record - the wayward, edgy and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out one more album, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the band to concentrate on individual endeavors.
Almond went on to have a prosperous individual path, including the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who combined dance music with melodic sounds over a long-lasting collaboration.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell reunited in 2001, releasing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.
After another break, they returned in 2018, releasing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was intended to be a farewell show at the large venue on 30 September, that year.
Yet, they stayed active, recording their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.
Ball lately characterized the duo's new album as a homage to the NYC nightlife they frequented while recording their initial records.
He noted that his time in hospital had influenced the group's music.
"I had strange recollections when I was in and out of the hospital because I was on morphine," he told a music magazine.
"Our latest tracks are a digital reflection of the noises in my head from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the times we had in the 80s."
The final mixes were finished only a short time before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for release in Spring 2026.
