Dave Ball, a key member of the groundbreaking 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Alongside vocalist Marc Almond, the duo scored a worldwide hit with their cover of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in 1984, and their debut album their initial full-length release is considered a classic of electronic music.
He later founded the innovative electronic act The Grid, who achieved chart success with 1994's Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully in his sleep at his residence in London on October 22, only a short time after performing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in Henley-on-Thames.
Health Struggles
During that performance, Ball performed in a wheelchair, as he had for the previous couple of years, after a spate of health issues.
"I managed to damage myself significantly," he stated in a recent interview. "I broke spinal bones in my spine and cracked about five ribs and fractured my wrist."
Following catching a lung infection and suffering from sepsis, he was put in an induced coma and stayed in hospital for half a year.
However, he had been in "a great place emotionally" over the summer, as he was developing a fresh record with Almond, titled the upcoming Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication in the coming year.
"He was concentrated and very pleased with the new album that we actually completed only a short time ago," stated the vocalist 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 great piece of work."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond referred to his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", adding: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our legacy.
"Many thanks Dave for being an immense part of my life and for the songs you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without you."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, shared his condolences, recalling Ball's "constant humor" and "steadfast support".
"Forming a duo with someone is distinct from being in a group, the bond is incredibly close," he continued.
"That was the case with us. We went through so many remarkable, incredible, life-affirming experiences as a team. Thank you, 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 18 months old.
He was raised in the seaside town with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who altered his first name from Paul to David, together with his sibling Susan, who was also adopted.
He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in the late 70s, where they were both studying art. Inspired by a mutual passion of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the very year, and promptly produced an extended play.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an distinctive combination: Ball was the reserved technician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all glitter and makeup; but they attained a rare musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with synthesizers after viewing Kraftwerk perform on a television program a popular series, and began to combine moody electronic sounds to the catchy tunes Almond was composing.
Their signature song became the UK's second most popular single of 1981, shifting millions of copies globally. Together with hits by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it contributed to cleared the way for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The song was also included on their first album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which produced two additional high-charting hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the record up with the separate release, Torch, which peaked at number two in 1982.
Career Highlights
Fame had its benefits. "I loved being able to afford my first home, having money 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 relieve the boredom" of press appearances and television shows, Ball said.
"I know that's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a good reason, because it works for so many bands."
Amidst the hedonistic lifestyle, the pair were also drifting apart, but they managed to create a follow-up classic album - the wayward, edgy and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released another album, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group to focus on individual endeavors.
Almond proceeded to have a successful 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 ambient pop over a long-lasting partnership.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell came back together in the early 2000s, producing the Top 40 album Cruelty Without Beauty.
After a further hiatus, they returned in 2018, issuing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was intended to be a farewell show at the O2 Arena on 30 September, that year.
However, they stayed together, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 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 added that his period in medical care had shaped the band's sound.
"I experienced strange recollections when I was in and out of the hospital because I was on morphine," he explained to a music magazine.
"The new songs are a digital reflection of the noises in my mind from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the times me and Marc got up to in the 1980s."
The last versions were completed only days before Ball died. It is due for release in Spring 2026.
