Dave Ball, a key member of the innovative 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Alongside vocalist Marc Almond, the duo scored a worldwide hit with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their debut album their initial full-length release is regarded as a classic of synth-pop.
He subsequently formed the innovative techno group The Grid, who secured chart success with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully in his rest at his home in London on October 22, only a short time after performing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in the Thames-side town.
Recent Health Challenges
During that performance, Ball performed in a wheelchair, as he had for the last two years, following a spate of health issues.
"I ended up damage myself significantly," he commented in a recent interview. "I fractured spinal bones in my back and fractured about five ribs and broke my arm."
Following contracting pneumonia and developing blood poisoning, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and remained in the hospital for seven months.
However, he had been in "a great place emotionally" during the summer, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, titled the upcoming Danceteria, which is scheduled for release next year.
"He was focused and so happy with the latest project that we actually finished only a short time ago," said the vocalist in a heartfelt message.
"It's so sad as next year was all set to be such an uplifting time for him, and I take some solace from the fact that he heard the completed album and believed that it was a great piece of work."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond described his collaborator as "an exceptionally talented creative mastermind", adding: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our legacy.
"Thank you Dave for being an immense aspect of my life and for the music you gave me. I couldn't be where I am without you."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, also paid tribute, recalling Ball's "endless laughter" and "unwavering friendship".
"Being in a partnership with someone is different from being in a group, the connection is incredibly close," he added.
"That's how it was with us. We went through so many remarkable, incredible, life-affirming experiences together. Thank you, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a one-parent family in the city of Chester in 1959, Ball was put up for adoption when he was 18 months of age.
He was raised in Blackpool with his new family his caregivers, who altered his first name from Paul to David, alongside his sibling Susan, who was also adopted.
He encountered Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both studying fine arts. Inspired by a mutual passion of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and promptly produced an extended play.
Creative Collaboration
The duo were an distinctive pairing: Ball was the reserved technician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all glitter and eye-liner; but they achieved a unique creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with electronic instruments after viewing the band Kraftwerk appear on a television science show Tomorrow's World, and started to combine moody electronic sounds to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second most popular single of 1981, shifting 21 million copies worldwide. Together with hits by other artists, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it helped cleared the path for the synth-pop sound of the 80s.
The song was also included on their full-length debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which spawned two further top five singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the record up with the separate release, Torch, which peaked at the second position in the following year.
Career Highlights
Fame had its benefits. "I enjoyed being able to afford my first home, having financial security and travelling, which makes me sound like a Miss World," Ball recently told with a music magazine.
But it also presented problems. "Sudden riches allowed we could afford newfound drugs to relieve the boredom" of media interviews and TV performances, Ball explained.
"I know that's a common saying, but it's a truism for a valid cause, because it works for so many musicians."
During the party-filled existence, the duo were also drifting apart, but they managed to create a second classic album - the wayward, edgy and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out another album, 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 chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who mixed acid house with ambient pop over a enduring collaboration.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, releasing the Top 40 album Cruelty Without Beauty.
After a further hiatus, they returned in 2018, issuing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was intended to be a final performance at the large venue on September 30, 2018.
Yet, they remained together, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.
Ball recently described the duo's upcoming release as a homage to the New York club scene they frequented while making their first two albums.
He added that his time in hospital had shaped the band's sound.
"I experienced unusual memories when I was coming and going of hospital because I was on pain medication," he told a publication.
"Our latest tracks are a digital reflection of the sounds in my mind from that time.
"Simultaneously, it's about the times me and Marc got up to in the 80s."
The final mixes were finished only days before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for launch in Spring 2026.
