Dave Ball, a key member of the groundbreaking 1980s synth-pop band Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the duo scored a worldwide hit with their version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a seminal work of electronic music.
He later formed the innovative electronic act The Grid, who achieved chart success with 1994's Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully in his rest at his home in London on October 22, only a short time after playing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in the Thames-side town.
Recent Health Challenges
During that performance, Ball appeared in a wheelchair, as he had for the last two years, after a period of health issues.
"I managed to damage myself significantly," he stated in 2023. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my back and fractured about multiple ribs and broke my wrist."
After contracting a lung infection and suffering from sepsis, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and remained in the hospital for seven months.
However, he had been in "high spirits emotionally" over the summer, as he worked on a new album with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is set for publication in the coming year.
"He was focused and very pleased with the latest project that we literally completed only a short time ago," stated the vocalist in a tribute.
"It's so sad as next year was all set to be such an positive year for him, and I take some solace from the knowledge that he listened to the completed album and believed that it was a masterpiece."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond described his bandmate as "an exceptionally talented musical genius", stating: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our body of work.
"Thank you Dave for being an significant part of my existence and for the music you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without your influence."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, also paid tribute, recalling Ball's "endless laughter" and "unwavering friendship".
"Forming a duo with someone is different from joining a group, the connection is incredibly close," he added.
"That was the case with us. We experienced so many extraordinary, incredible, memorable experiences as a team. Thank you, Dave."
Early Life
Born 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 old.
He was raised in Blackpool with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who altered his given name from his birth name to David, together with his sibling his sister, who was similarly welcomed.
He encountered Almond at an art college in the late 70s, where they were both learning fine arts. Inspired by a shared love of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the very year, and promptly recorded an extended play.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an distinctive pairing: Ball was the quiet musician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they attained a rare musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with synthesizers after watching Kraftwerk perform on BBC science show a popular series, and began to marry moody electronic sounds to the catchy tunes Almond was composing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second biggest-selling song of 1981, selling 21 million copies worldwide. Alongside hits by other artists, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it contributed to cleared the path for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The song was also featured on their first album, their initial LP, which produced two further top five hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the album up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which peaked at the second position in the following year.
Professional Journey
Fame had its upsides. "I enjoyed being able to purchase my initial property, having money and travelling, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball not long ago shared with a music magazine.
But it also caused challenges. "Newfound wealth meant we could afford newfound drugs to alleviate the monotony" of press appearances and TV performances, Ball explained.
"I know that's a common saying, but it's a cliché for a good reason, because it applies for so many bands."
During the party-filled existence, the duo were also drifting apart, but they succeeded to produce a second classic album - the wayward, edgy and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released one more LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group to focus on other projects.
Almond proceeded to have a successful individual path, including the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who mixed dance music with ambient pop over a enduring partnership.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, releasing the charting album Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following a further break, they reappeared in 2018, issuing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was intended to be a farewell show at the O2 Arena on September 30, 2018.
However, they remained together, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.
Ball lately described the duo's upcoming release as a tribute to the New York club scene they visited while making their initial records.
He added that his time in hospital had shaped the group's music.
"I experienced strange recollections when I was coming and going of hospital because I was on morphine," he told a music magazine.
"Our latest tracks are a electronic representation of the noises in my mind from that time.
"In parallel, it's about the experiences we had in the 1980s."
The final mixes were finished only days before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for release in Spring 2026.
