Dave Ball, a key member of the innovative 1980s synth-pop duo Soft Cell, has passed away 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 the mid-80s, and their debut album their initial full-length release is regarded as a classic of synth-pop.
He subsequently founded the innovative techno group The Grid, who secured chart success with 1994's Swamp Thing.
Ball died calmly in his sleep at his residence in London on October 22, just weeks after performing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in Henley-on-Thames.
Recent Health Challenges
At that performance, Ball performed in a wheelchair, as he had for the previous couple of years, following a period of ill-health.
"I ended up injure myself significantly," he stated in a recent interview. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my back and fractured about five ribs and broke my wrist."
Following contracting pneumonia and suffering from blood poisoning, he was placed in an induced coma and stayed in hospital for half a year.
However, he had been in "high spirits emotionally" during the summer, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, called Danceteria, which is set for release in the coming year.
"He was focused and so happy with the new album that we literally finished only a few days ago," said the vocalist in a tribute.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was completely planned to be such an uplifting time for him, and I find comfort from the knowledge that he heard the completed album and felt that it was a great piece of work."
Tributes
Almond referred to his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant 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 significant part of my existence and for the songs you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without you."
Richard Norris from The Grid, also paid tribute, remembering Ball's "constant humor" and "steadfast support".
"Forming a partnership with someone is different from joining a band, the bond is incredibly close," he added.
"That's how it was with us. We experienced so many extraordinary, extraordinary, life-affirming experiences together. Thank you, Dave."
Formative Years
Born into a single-parent household in Chester in the late 50s, Ball was put up for adoption when he was a year and a half old.
He was raised in the seaside town with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his given name from his birth name to his adopted name, alongside his younger sister his sister, who was also adopted.
He met Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both learning art. Fuelled by a mutual passion of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and promptly recorded an EP.
Musical Partnership
The duo were an distinctive pairing: Ball was the reserved technician, hunched over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic showman, all sparkle and makeup; but they attained a unique creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with synthesizers after viewing the band Kraftwerk appear on a television science show a popular series, and started to combine dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second biggest-selling single of the early 80s, selling 21 million copies globally. Alongside successful tracks by Gary Numan, Human League and Ultravox, it helped paved the way 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 further top five singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the record up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at number two in the following year.
Professional Journey
Success had its upsides. "I enjoyed being able to afford my first home, having money and exploring, which might seem like a beauty queen," Ball recently told with a music magazine.
But it also presented problems. "Sudden riches meant we could afford substances to relieve the monotony" of press appearances and TV performances, Ball explained.
"I realize that's a common saying, but it's a cliché for a good reason, because it works for so many bands."
During the party-filled existence, the duo were also growing distant, but they managed to produce a second memorable record - the wayward, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out another LP, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the group to concentrate 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 dance music with ambient pop over a long-lasting collaboration.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, releasing the Top 40 album Cruelty Without Beauty.
After another break, 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.
However, they remained active, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.
Ball lately described the duo's new album as a homage to the New York club scene they frequented while recording their first two albums.
He added that his time in medical care 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.
"The new songs 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 passed away. It is scheduled for release in Spring 2026.
