Dave Ball, a key member of the pioneering 1980s synth-pop band Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Together with vocalist Marc Almond, the team achieved a global success with their cover of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in 1984, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a classic of electronic music.
He later formed the pioneering electronic act The Grid, who achieved popular acclaim with their 1994 single the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully in his sleep at his home 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
At that performance, Ball performed in a wheelchair, as he had for the previous couple of years, after a period of health issues.
"I ended up damage myself significantly," he stated in a recent interview. "I broke lower vertebrae in my spine and fractured about five ribs and broke my arm."
Following contracting a lung infection and suffering from blood poisoning, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and remained in hospital for seven months.
Nevertheless, 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 concentrated and very pleased with the new album that we literally completed only a short time ago," said the vocalist in a tribute.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was all set to be such an uplifting time for him, and I take some solace from the fact that he listened to the finished record and believed that it was a great piece of work."
Tributes
Almond described his collaborator as "an exceptionally talented musical genius", adding: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our legacy.
"Thank you Dave for being an significant aspect of my life and for the music you gave me. I couldn't be where I am without your influence."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, shared his condolences, recalling Ball's "constant humor" and "unwavering friendship".
"Being in a duo with someone is different from joining a band, the bond is very tight," he added.
"That was the case with us. We experienced so many extraordinary, extraordinary, memorable moments together. Many thanks, 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 Blackpool with adoptive parents his caregivers, who changed his first name from his birth name to his adopted name, together with his sibling Susan, who was also adopted.
He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both studying art. Inspired by a shared love of Northern Soul, they established Soft Cell the very year, and quickly recorded an EP.
Musical Partnership
The duo were an distinctive pairing: Ball was the quiet technician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant showman, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they attained a rare creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with electronic instruments after watching the band Kraftwerk appear on BBC science show Tomorrow's World, and began to marry dark electronica to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling single of 1981, shifting millions of copies globally. Alongside successful tracks by other artists, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it contributed to cleared the way for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.
The track was also featured on their first album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which produced two additional high-charting hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the record up with the separate release, Torch, which peaked at number two in 1982.
Career Highlights
Success had its benefits. "I loved being able to afford my initial property, having financial security and travelling, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball not long ago told with a publication.
But it also presented challenges. "Newfound wealth meant we could afford substances to relieve the monotony" of media interviews and TV performances, Ball said.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a truism 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 create a follow-up memorable record - the unconventional, edgy and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released one more LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band to concentrate on individual endeavors.
Almond went on to have a successful solo career, including the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who combined acid house with melodic sounds over a long-lasting collaboration.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell came back together in 2001, releasing the charting album Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following another break, they reappeared in 2018, issuing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was intended to be a farewell show at the large venue on September 30, that year.
Yet, they stayed together, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic restrictions.
Ball lately described the duo's upcoming release as a homage to the NYC nightlife they visited while making their first two albums.
He noted that his period in medical care had influenced the band's sound.
"I had unusual memories when I was coming and going of hospital because I was on morphine," he told a publication.
"The new songs are a digital reflection of the sounds in my mind from that time.
"Simultaneously, it's about the times me and Marc had in the 80s."
The final mixes were finished only days before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for release in the spring of 2026.
