Dave Ball, a key member of the innovative 1980s electronic music duo 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' the classic track Tainted Love in 1984, and their debut album their initial full-length release is regarded as a seminal work of synth-pop.
He subsequently formed the pioneering techno group The Grid, who achieved popular acclaim with their 1994 single the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully in his sleep at his residence in London on October 22, just weeks after performing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival 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 period of health issues.
"I ended up damage myself significantly," he stated in 2023. "I broke lower vertebrae in my back and fractured about multiple ribs and fractured my wrist."
After catching a lung infection and suffering from blood poisoning, he was placed in an induced coma and remained in hospital for half a year.
However, he had been in "high spirits mentally" over the summer, as he worked on a new album with Almond, called the upcoming Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication in the coming year.
"He was concentrated and very pleased with the new album that we literally finished only a short time ago," said the singer in a heartfelt message.
"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 fact that he heard the completed album and felt that it was a great piece of work."
Tributes
Almond described his bandmate as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", adding: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our body of work.
"Many thanks Dave for being an immense aspect of my life and for the songs you gave me. I wouldn't be where I am without your influence."
Richard Norris from The Grid, shared his condolences, remembering Ball's "constant humor" and "unwavering friendship".
"Forming a duo with someone is distinct from being in a group, the bond is incredibly close," he added.
"That was the case with us. We experienced so many remarkable, extraordinary, life-affirming moments as a team. Thank you, Dave."
Early Life
Born into a single-parent household in Chester in 1959, Ball was given up for adoption when he was a year and a half old.
He was raised in the seaside town with his new family his caregivers, who altered his first name from Paul to David, alongside his younger sister Susan, who was also adopted.
He encountered Almond at an art college in the late 70s, where they were both studying art. Fuelled by a mutual passion of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the same year, and quickly produced an EP.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an distinctive combination: Ball was the quiet 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 interest with electronic instruments after watching the band Kraftwerk appear on BBC program Tomorrow's World, and started to marry moody electronic sounds to the catchy tunes Almond was composing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second most popular song of the early 80s, shifting 21 million units worldwide. Alongside hits by other artists, Human League and electronic acts, it helped paved the way for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.
The track was also featured on their first album, their initial LP, which spawned two additional high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the record up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which peaked at the second position in the following year.
Professional Journey
Fame had its benefits. "I enjoyed being able to afford my initial property, having money and exploring, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball recently told with a music magazine.
But it also caused challenges. "Newfound wealth allowed we could afford newfound drugs to relieve the boredom" of press appearances and television shows, Ball said.
"I realize that's a common saying, but it's a cliché for a valid cause, because it applies for so many bands."
Amidst the party-filled existence, the pair were also growing distant, but they managed to create a follow-up classic album - the wayward, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released another album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group to concentrate on other projects.
Almond went on to have a prosperous solo career, including the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who mixed acid house with ambient pop over a long-lasting collaboration.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell reunited in 2001, producing the charting record Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following another break, they reappeared in 2018, releasing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was supposed to be a final performance at the O2 Arena on September 30, 2018.
Yet, they stayed active, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.
Ball lately characterized the duo's upcoming release as a tribute to the NYC nightlife they visited while recording their first two albums.
He noted that his time in medical care had shaped the band's sound.
"I had strange recollections when I was in and out of hospital because I was on pain medication," he told a publication.
"The new songs are a digital reflection of the sounds in my head from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences me and Marc got up to in the 80s."
The last versions were completed only a short time before Ball died. It is due for launch in the spring of 2026.
