Dave Ball, a key member of the pioneering 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the team scored a global success with their version of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record their initial full-length release is regarded as a classic of synth-pop.
He later founded the pioneering electronic act The Grid, who achieved chart success with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully in his sleep at his residence in London on Wednesday 22 October, just weeks after playing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in Henley-on-Thames.
Health Struggles
At that show, Ball appeared in a wheelchair, as he had for the last two years, following a spate of ill-health.
"I managed to damage myself quite a bit," he commented in a recent interview. "I broke lower vertebrae in my spine and fractured about multiple ribs and fractured my wrist."
After catching pneumonia and suffering from blood poisoning, he was put in an induced coma and stayed in the hospital for half a year.
However, he had been in "high spirits mentally" over the warmer months, as he worked on a new album with Almond, called the upcoming Danceteria, which is set for release in the coming year.
"He was concentrated and very pleased with the latest project that we actually completed only a short time ago," said the singer in a heartfelt message.
"It's so sad as next year was all set to be such an uplifting year for him, and I find comfort from the fact that he listened to the finished record and believed that it was a masterpiece."
Tributes
Almond referred to his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", stating: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our body of work.
"Thank you Dave for being an immense aspect of my life and for the songs you gave me. I couldn't be where I am without your influence."
Richard Norris 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 bond is incredibly close," he added.
"That was the case with us. We experienced so many remarkable, extraordinary, memorable experiences together. Many thanks, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a single-parent household in Chester in the late 50s, Ball was given up for adoption when he was a year and a half old.
He grew up in the seaside town with his new family his caregivers, who altered his given name from his birth name to his adopted name, together with his sibling his sister, who was similarly welcomed.
He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both learning art. Inspired by a mutual passion of Northern Soul, they established Soft Cell the very year, and quickly produced an extended play.
Musical Partnership
The duo were an unusual pairing: Ball was the reserved technician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic showman, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they achieved a rare musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with electronic instruments after viewing the band Kraftwerk perform on a television science show a popular series, and started to marry moody electronic sounds to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second biggest-selling song of the early 80s, shifting millions of units globally. Alongside hits by other artists, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it contributed to cleared the way for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.
The track was also included on their first album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which produced two additional high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the record up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at the second position in 1982.
Career Highlights
Success had its upsides. "I enjoyed being able to purchase my initial property, having financial security and travelling, which might seem like a beauty queen," Ball not long ago told with a publication.
But it also caused problems. "Newfound wealth meant we could afford newfound drugs to relieve the monotony" of press appearances and TV performances, Ball said.
"I realize that's a common saying, but it's a cliché for a valid cause, because it applies for so many musicians."
During the hedonistic lifestyle, the duo were also drifting apart, but they succeeded to create a follow-up memorable record - the wayward, edgy and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released another album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band to focus on individual endeavors.
Almond went on to have a prosperous solo career, 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 collaboration.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell reunited in 2001, releasing the charting album Cruelty Without Beauty.
After another break, they reappeared in 2018, releasing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was supposed to be a farewell show at the large venue on September 30, 2018.
Yet, they stayed together, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.
Ball lately characterized the band's new album as a homage to the NYC nightlife they frequented while making their initial records.
He noted that his period in medical care had shaped the group's music.
"I had strange recollections when I was coming and going of hospital because I was on pain medication," he explained to a publication.
"The new songs are a electronic representation of the noises in my head from that time.
"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences me and Marc got up to in the 80s."
The last versions were finished only days before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for launch in Spring 2026.
