Dave Ball, a key member of the pioneering 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Together with vocalist Marc Almond, the pair achieved a worldwide hit with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in 1984, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a seminal work of synth-pop.
He subsequently formed the pioneering electronic act The Grid, who achieved chart success with their 1994 single Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully in his rest at his residence in London on Wednesday 22 October, only a short time after performing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in the Thames-side town.
Recent Health Challenges
At that show, Ball performed in a mobility chair, as he had for the last two years, following a spate of health issues.
"I managed to damage myself quite a bit," he commented in 2023. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my spine and cracked about five ribs and fractured my arm."
After contracting a lung infection and developing sepsis, he was put in an induced coma and remained in the hospital for half a year.
Nevertheless, he had been in "high spirits mentally" over the warmer months, as he worked on a new album with Almond, titled the upcoming Danceteria, which is set for release in the coming year.
"He was focused and so happy with the latest project that we actually completed only a few days ago," said the singer in a tribute.
"It's so sad as next year was completely planned to be such an positive year for him, and I take some solace from the knowledge that he heard the finished record and believed that it was a masterpiece."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond referred to his collaborator as "an exceptionally talented creative mastermind", adding: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our legacy.
"Thank you Dave for being an immense part 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, also paid tribute, recalling Ball's "constant humor" and "unwavering friendship".
"Forming a duo with someone is distinct from joining a band, the connection is incredibly close," he continued.
"That was the case with us. We went through so many remarkable, extraordinary, memorable moments together. Thank you, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a single-parent household in the city of Chester in 1959, Ball was put up for adoption when he was 18 months old.
He was raised in Blackpool with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who altered his given name from Paul to David, alongside his younger sister his sister, who was similarly welcomed.
He met Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both learning art. Inspired by a shared love of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the same year, and quickly produced an extended play.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an distinctive pairing: Ball was the reserved technician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all sparkle and makeup; but they attained a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with electronic instruments after viewing the band Kraftwerk appear on BBC program a popular series, and started to combine moody electronic sounds to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second biggest-selling song of the early 80s, shifting 21 million units worldwide. Alongside successful tracks by Gary Numan, Human League and electronic acts, it helped cleared the path for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.
The track was also featured on their full-length debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which spawned two further top five hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the record up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which peaked at number two in the following year.
Professional Journey
Success had its upsides. "I enjoyed being able to afford my first home, having money and travelling, which makes me sound like a Miss World," Ball not long ago told with a publication.
But it also caused problems. "Sudden riches allowed we could purchase substances to alleviate the monotony" of media interviews and TV performances, Ball said.
"I know that's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a valid cause, because it applies for so many musicians."
During the hedonistic lifestyle, the duo were also growing distant, but they succeeded to produce a second classic album - the wayward, edgy and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released another LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the band to concentrate on other projects.
Almond went on to have a successful solo career, featuring the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who combined acid house with ambient pop over a long-lasting collaboration.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, producing the Top 40 album Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following another break, they returned in 2018, releasing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was supposed to be a farewell show at the O2 Arena on 30 September, that year.
However, they stayed active, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic restrictions.
Ball lately described the band's upcoming release as a tribute to the NYC nightlife they visited while making their first two albums.
He added that his time in hospital had influenced the band's sound.
"I had strange recollections when I was coming and going of the hospital because I was on pain medication," 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 we got up to in the 80s."
The last versions were completed only a short time before Ball died. It is scheduled for launch in the spring of 2026.
