Dave Ball, a key member of the groundbreaking 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Together with vocalist Marc Almond, the team achieved a worldwide hit with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their debut album their initial full-length release is regarded as a seminal work of electronic music.
He later formed the innovative techno group The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with 1994's Swamp Thing.
Ball died calmly in his sleep at his home in London on October 22, just weeks after playing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in the Thames-side town.
Recent Health Challenges
At that performance, Ball appeared in a wheelchair, as he had for the last two years, after a period of ill-health.
"I managed to injure myself significantly," he commented in a recent interview. "I fractured spinal bones in my back and fractured about five ribs and fractured my wrist."
Following contracting a lung infection and developing blood poisoning, he was put in an induced coma and remained in hospital for half a year.
However, he had been in "a great place emotionally" over the warmer months, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, titled the upcoming Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication 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 heartfelt message.
"It's truly heartbreaking 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 completed album and believed that it was a masterpiece."
Tributes
Almond described his collaborator as "an exceptionally talented musical genius", adding: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our body of work.
"Many thanks Dave for being an immense aspect of my existence and for the songs you created with me. I wouldn't be where I am without your influence."
Richard Norris 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 connection is very tight," he continued.
"That's how it was with us. We went through so many remarkable, 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 1959, Ball was put up for adoption when he was a year and a half old.
He was raised 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 younger sister his sister, who was also adopted.
He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in the late 70s, where they were both learning fine arts. Inspired by a mutual passion of Northern Soul, they established Soft Cell the very year, and promptly recorded an EP.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an unusual pairing: Ball was the quiet technician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all glitter and makeup; but they attained a unique creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with synthesizers after watching Kraftwerk appear on BBC program a popular series, and started to marry moody electronic sounds to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.
Their signature song became the United Kingdom's second most popular song of the early 80s, selling 21 million units worldwide. Alongside successful tracks by Gary Numan, Human League and Ultravox, it helped cleared the way for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.
The song was also included on their full-length debut, their initial LP, which spawned two further high-charting hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the album up with the separate release, Torch, which peaked at the second position in the following year.
Career Highlights
Success had its benefits. "I enjoyed being able to afford my first home, having financial security and exploring, which makes me sound like a Miss World," Ball recently shared with a publication.
But it also presented challenges. "Sudden riches allowed we could purchase substances to relieve the monotony" of media interviews and TV performances, Ball explained.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a valid cause, because it applies for so many musicians."
Amidst the hedonistic lifestyle, the duo were also growing distant, but they managed to produce a second memorable record - the wayward, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released another album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the group to concentrate on individual endeavors.
Almond went on to have a prosperous solo career, including the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who combined dance music with melodic sounds over a enduring partnership.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell came back together in the early 2000s, producing the charting album Cruelty Without Beauty.
After another break, they reappeared in recent years, issuing 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, that year.
Yet, they remained together, recording their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.
Ball recently characterized the band's upcoming release as a homage to the NYC nightlife they frequented while recording their first two albums.
He noted that his period in medical care had shaped the band's sound.
"I had strange recollections when I was coming and going of hospital because I was on morphine," he explained to a publication.
"Our latest tracks are a digital reflection of the noises in my head from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the times we got up to in the 1980s."
The final mixes were finished only days before Ball died. It is due for release in Spring 2026.
