Dave Ball, a key member of the innovative 1980s synth-pop band Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the pair scored a worldwide hit with their version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record their initial full-length release is considered a seminal work of synth-pop.
He later formed the innovative techno group The Grid, who achieved chart success with 1994's Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his sleep at his home in London on October 22, just weeks after playing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in the Thames-side town.
Health Struggles
During that show, Ball appeared in a mobility chair, as he had for the previous couple of years, after a spate of ill-health.
"I ended up injure myself significantly," he stated in 2023. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my spine and cracked about multiple ribs and broke my arm."
Following contracting pneumonia and suffering from sepsis, he was placed in an induced coma and stayed in the hospital for half a year.
However, he had been in "high spirits emotionally" over the warmer months, as he was developing a fresh record with Almond, called the upcoming Danceteria, which is scheduled for release in the coming year.
"He was focused and so happy with the latest project that we literally completed only a few days ago," stated the vocalist in a tribute.
"It's so sad as next year was completely planned to be such an positive time for him, and I take some solace from the knowledge that he heard the completed album and believed that it was a great piece of work."
Tributes
Almond described his bandmate as "an exceptionally talented creative mastermind", stating: "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 immense aspect of my existence and for the songs you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without your influence."
Richard Norris from The Grid, shared his condolences, remembering Ball's "constant humor" and "steadfast support".
"Being in a partnership with someone is different from joining a group, the connection is incredibly close," he continued.
"That was the case with us. We experienced so many extraordinary, incredible, life-affirming moments as a team. Many thanks, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a single-parent household in the city of Chester in the late 50s, Ball was put up for adoption when he was 18 months of age.
He was raised in the seaside town with his new family Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his first name from Paul to David, together with his younger sister Susan, who was similarly welcomed.
He encountered Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both studying fine arts. Fuelled by a shared love of Northern Soul, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and quickly recorded an EP.
Musical Partnership
The duo were an distinctive combination: Ball was the quiet musician, hunched over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant showman, all sparkle and makeup; but they achieved a unique creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with synthesizers after viewing the band Kraftwerk appear on a television program Tomorrow's World, and started to marry dark electronica to the catchy tunes Almond was composing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling song of the early 80s, shifting 21 million copies worldwide. Alongside hits by Gary Numan, Human League and electronic acts, it helped paved the way for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The track was also featured on their full-length debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which produced two further top five hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the album up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at number two in the following year.
Career Highlights
Fame had its benefits. "I loved being able to purchase my first home, having money and exploring, which might seem like a beauty queen," Ball recently told with a music magazine.
But it also caused problems. "Newfound wealth meant we could afford newfound drugs to relieve the boredom" of media interviews and television shows, Ball explained.
"I know that's a cliché, 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 drifting apart, but they managed to create a second memorable record - the unconventional, edgy and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released one more album, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band to concentrate on individual endeavors.
Almond proceeded to have a successful individual path, featuring the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who combined dance music with ambient pop over a long-lasting collaboration.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell reunited in 2001, producing the Top 40 album Cruelty Without Beauty.
After a further hiatus, 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 final performance at the large venue on September 30, 2018.
However, they stayed active, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic restrictions.
Ball recently described the duo's upcoming release as a tribute to the New York club scene they visited while recording their first two albums.
He added that his period in medical care had shaped the band's sound.
"I experienced unusual memories when I was in and out of the hospital because I was on morphine," he explained to a publication.
"Our latest tracks are a electronic representation of the sounds in my mind from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences we got up to in the 1980s."
The last versions were completed only days before Ball died. It is due for release in the spring of 2026.
