Dave Ball, a key member of the groundbreaking 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the duo scored a global success with their cover of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their debut album their initial full-length release is considered a seminal work of synth-pop.
He later formed the pioneering techno group The Grid, who secured chart success with 1994's Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his rest at his residence in London on Wednesday 22 October, just weeks after performing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in the Thames-side town.
Health Struggles
During that performance, Ball appeared in a mobility chair, as he had for the last two years, following a spate of ill-health.
"I ended up injure myself significantly," he commented in 2023. "I fractured spinal bones in my spine and cracked about multiple ribs and fractured my wrist."
Following catching pneumonia and suffering from blood poisoning, he was placed in an induced coma and stayed in hospital for seven months.
Nevertheless, he had been in "a great place emotionally" over the summer, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, titled the upcoming Danceteria, which is set for release in the coming year.
"He was focused and very pleased with the new album that we actually completed only a short time ago," stated the vocalist in a tribute.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was completely planned to be such an positive year for him, and I find comfort from the knowledge that he heard the finished record and felt that it was a great piece of work."
Tributes
Almond referred to his bandmate as "an exceptionally talented musical genius", adding: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our body of work.
"Thank you Dave for being an immense aspect 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, shared his condolences, recalling Ball's "endless laughter" and "steadfast support".
"Forming a duo with someone is distinct from joining a band, the connection is very tight," he continued.
"That was the case with us. We experienced so many extraordinary, extraordinary, life-affirming experiences together. Thank you, Dave."
Formative Years
Born into a one-parent family in the city of Chester in 1959, Ball was given up for adoption when he was 18 months of age.
He was raised in Blackpool with adoptive parents his caregivers, who changed his given name from his birth name to David, together with his sibling his sister, who was also adopted.
He met Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in the late 70s, where they were both learning art. Fuelled by a mutual passion of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and quickly produced an EP.
Creative Collaboration
The pair were an distinctive combination: Ball was the reserved technician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all sparkle and makeup; but they achieved a rare musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with synthesizers after watching the band Kraftwerk appear on BBC science show Tomorrow's World, and started to combine dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.
Their signature song became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling single of the early 80s, selling millions of units worldwide. Together with successful tracks by Gary Numan, Human League and Ultravox, it helped cleared the path for the electronic music style of the 80s.
The track was also featured on their full-length debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which produced two additional high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the record up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which reached at the second position in the following year.
Professional Journey
Fame had its upsides. "I enjoyed being able to afford my first home, having financial security and travelling, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball not long ago shared with a publication.
But it also presented challenges. "Newfound wealth meant we could purchase substances to relieve the boredom" of media interviews and TV performances, Ball said.
"I know that's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a good reason, because it applies for so many musicians."
Amidst the party-filled existence, the duo were also drifting apart, but they succeeded to produce a second classic album - the wayward, edgy and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released one more album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group to focus on individual endeavors.
Almond proceeded to have a prosperous individual path, including the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who mixed acid house with melodic sounds over a enduring collaboration.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell reunited in 2001, releasing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following another hiatus, they reappeared in 2018, issuing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was supposed to be a farewell show at the O2 Arena on September 30, that year.
However, they stayed together, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.
Ball recently characterized the band's new album as a homage to the NYC nightlife they frequented while recording their initial records.
He noted that his period in medical care had shaped the group's music.
"I experienced strange recollections when I was in and out of hospital because I was on morphine," he told a music magazine.
"Our latest tracks are a electronic representation of the noises in my head from that time.
"In parallel, it's about the experiences me and Marc got up to in the 1980s."
The last versions were completed only days before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for launch in Spring 2026.
