Dave Ball, a key member of the pioneering 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Alongside vocalist Marc Almond, the duo achieved a global success with their version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a seminal work of synth-pop.
He later formed the innovative techno group The Grid, who secured chart success with their 1994 single the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball died calmly in his rest at his residence in London on Wednesday 22 October, just weeks after playing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in Henley-on-Thames.
Recent Health Challenges
During that show, Ball performed in a wheelchair, as he had for the last two years, after a spate of ill-health.
"I managed to injure myself significantly," he commented in a recent interview. "I broke lower vertebrae in my spine and fractured about multiple ribs and broke my arm."
After contracting a lung infection and developing sepsis, he was placed in an induced coma and stayed in hospital for half a year.
Nevertheless, he had been in "a great place emotionally" during the warmer months, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, called Danceteria, which is scheduled for release in the coming year.
"He was concentrated and so happy with the latest project that we literally 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 positive time for him, and I find comfort from the fact that he heard the finished record and felt that it was a masterpiece."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond described his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant musical genius", adding: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our body of work.
"Many thanks Dave for being an significant part of my existence and for the music you gave me. I couldn't be where I am without you."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, shared his condolences, remembering Ball's "endless laughter" and "steadfast support".
"Being in a duo with someone is different from being in a band, the connection is incredibly close," he added.
"That was the case with us. We went through so many remarkable, incredible, memorable experiences as a team. Many thanks, Dave."
Formative Years
Brought into the world into a single-parent household in the city of Chester in the late 50s, Ball was given up for adoption when he was 18 months old.
He grew up in Blackpool with his new family his caregivers, who changed his first 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 art. Inspired by a mutual passion of Northern Soul, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and quickly produced an extended play.
Musical Partnership
The duo were an distinctive pairing: Ball was the reserved technician, hunched over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant showman, all glitter and eye-liner; but they achieved a rare creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with synthesizers after watching the band Kraftwerk appear on a television science show Tomorrow's World, and began to marry dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.
Their signature song became the UK's second most popular single of 1981, selling millions of copies worldwide. Alongside hits by Gary Numan, Human League and electronic acts, 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 further high-charting hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the album up with the separate release, Torch, which peaked at number two in the following year.
Career Highlights
Fame had its upsides. "I loved being able to purchase my first home, having money and travelling, which makes me sound like a Miss World," Ball not long ago shared with a music magazine.
But it also caused problems. "Newfound wealth meant we could purchase substances to relieve the boredom" of press appearances and television shows, Ball explained.
"I realize that's a common saying, but it's a truism for a valid cause, because it applies for so many musicians."
Amidst the party-filled existence, the pair were also growing distant, but they managed to produce a second classic album - the wayward, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released one more album, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group to concentrate on other projects.
Almond went on 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 combined acid house with ambient pop over a enduring partnership.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, releasing the charting album Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following a further hiatus, they reappeared 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 O2 Arena on 30 September, 2018.
However, they stayed active, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.
Ball lately described the duo's new album as a homage to the NYC nightlife they visited while making their first two albums.
He noted that his time in hospital had shaped the band's sound.
"I experienced strange recollections when I was in and out 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.
"In parallel, it's about the experiences we got up to in the 80s."
The final mixes were completed only days before Ball died. It is due for launch in the spring of 2026.
