Dave Ball, a key member of the groundbreaking 1980s synth-pop band 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' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record their initial full-length release is regarded as a classic of synth-pop.
He subsequently founded the innovative electronic act The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully in his sleep at his home in London on Wednesday 22 October, just weeks after performing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in the Thames-side town.
Health Struggles
During that show, Ball appeared in a wheelchair, as he had for the previous couple of years, following a period of ill-health.
"I ended up injure myself significantly," he stated in a recent interview. "I broke spinal bones in my spine and cracked about multiple ribs and fractured my arm."
Following catching a lung infection and suffering from blood poisoning, he was placed in an induced coma and remained in hospital for half a year.
Nevertheless, he had been in "high spirits emotionally" during the summer, as he worked on a new album with Almond, titled the upcoming Danceteria, which is set for release next year.
"He was focused and very pleased with the new album that we actually finished only a few days ago," stated the singer in a tribute.
"It's so sad as next year was all set to be such an uplifting time for him, and I take some solace from the fact that he listened to the finished record and believed that it was a great piece of work."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond described his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant musical genius", stating: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our body of work.
"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."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, shared his condolences, remembering Ball's "endless laughter" and "steadfast support".
"Being in a partnership with someone is different from being in a group, the connection is very tight," he added.
"That was the case with us. We experienced so many extraordinary, incredible, memorable experiences as a team. Thank you, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a one-parent family in the city of Chester in the late 50s, Ball was given up for adoption when he was a year and a half old.
He grew up in Blackpool with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his first name from his birth name to David, alongside his sibling Susan, who was similarly welcomed.
He met Almond at an art college in the late 70s, where they were both learning art. Fuelled by a mutual passion of Northern Soul, they formed Soft Cell the very year, and quickly produced an EP.
Musical Partnership
The duo were an unusual combination: Ball was the reserved musician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic showman, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they achieved a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with electronic instruments after watching Kraftwerk appear on BBC program a popular series, and began to marry dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.
Their signature song became the UK's second biggest-selling single of the early 80s, shifting millions of copies globally. Alongside hits by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it contributed to cleared the way for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The song was also included on their full-length debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which produced two further top five singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the album up with the separate release, Torch, which peaked at the second position in the following year.
Career Highlights
Fame had its benefits. "I loved being able to purchase my initial property, having financial security and travelling, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball recently told with a music magazine.
But it also presented challenges. "Newfound wealth meant we could afford substances to relieve the monotony" of press appearances and television shows, Ball explained.
"I know that's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a good reason, because it works for so many musicians."
Amidst the hedonistic lifestyle, the pair were also drifting apart, but they managed to create a follow-up memorable record - the wayward, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released another album, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the band to concentrate on other projects.
Almond proceeded 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 mixed dance music with ambient pop over a enduring collaboration.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell reunited in 2001, producing the charting album Cruelty Without Beauty.
After another break, they returned in recent years, releasing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging 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 characterized the band's new album as a homage to the NYC nightlife they visited while recording their initial records.
He added that his time in hospital had shaped the band's sound.
"I had unusual memories when I was coming and going of the hospital because I was on pain medication," he told a publication.
"The new songs are a electronic representation of the sounds in my head from that time.
"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences we got up to in the 80s."
The last versions were finished only a short time before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for release in Spring 2026.
