Dave Ball, one half of the groundbreaking 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Together with singer Marc Almond, the team achieved a global success with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a classic of electronic music.
He later founded the pioneering techno group The Grid, who achieved popular acclaim with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully in his sleep at his residence in London on October 22, just weeks after performing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in the Thames-side town.
Recent Health Challenges
During that show, Ball appeared in a wheelchair, as he had for the previous couple of years, following a spate of health issues.
"I ended up injure myself significantly," he commented in 2023. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my back and cracked about multiple ribs and fractured my arm."
Following catching a lung infection and suffering from sepsis, he was put in an induced coma and remained in hospital for seven months.
Nevertheless, he had been in "high spirits mentally" during the warmer months, as he was developing a new album 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 few days ago," said the singer in a heartfelt message.
"It's so sad 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 completed album and felt that it was a masterpiece."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond described his collaborator as "an exceptionally talented musical genius", stating: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our legacy.
"Many thanks Dave for being an immense aspect of my life and for the songs you created with me. I wouldn't be where I am without your influence."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, shared his condolences, remembering Ball's "constant humor" and "unwavering friendship".
"Forming a duo with someone is different from being in a band, the connection is incredibly close," he continued.
"That's how it was with us. We experienced so many remarkable, extraordinary, life-affirming moments together. Many thanks, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a one-parent family in Chester in 1959, Ball was given 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, alongside his sibling Susan, who was similarly welcomed.
He met Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both studying art. Inspired by a shared love of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and quickly recorded an EP.
Musical Partnership
The duo were an distinctive pairing: Ball was the quiet technician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a charismatic showman, all glitter and eye-liner; but they attained 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 started to marry dark electronica to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling song of 1981, selling 21 million units worldwide. Together with successful tracks by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it helped cleared the path for the synth-pop sound of the 80s.
The track was also included on their full-length debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which spawned two further high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the album up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which reached at number two in the following year.
Professional Journey
Fame had its upsides. "I loved being able to purchase my initial property, having money and travelling, which might seem like a beauty queen," Ball not long ago told with a publication.
But it also presented challenges. "Sudden riches allowed we could purchase newfound drugs to alleviate the monotony" of media interviews and TV performances, Ball explained.
"I realize that's a common saying, but it's a cliché for a valid cause, because it works for so many bands."
Amidst the party-filled existence, the duo were also growing distant, but they succeeded to create a second memorable record - the wayward, edgy and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out one more LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the group to concentrate on individual endeavors.
Almond proceeded 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 long-lasting collaboration.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell reunited in 2001, producing the Top 40 album Cruelty Without Beauty.
After a further break, 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 fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic restrictions.
Ball lately described the band's new album as a tribute to the New York club scene they visited while making their first two albums.
He added that his time in medical care had shaped the band's sound.
"I experienced unusual memories when I was in and out of hospital because I was on pain medication," he explained to a publication.
"Our latest tracks are a digital reflection of the sounds in my head from those days.
"In parallel, it's about the experiences me and Marc got up to in the 1980s."
The last versions were finished only a short time before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for launch in the spring of 2026.
