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 pair scored a global success with their version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in 1984, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a classic of electronic music.
He subsequently founded the pioneering techno group The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with 1994's Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his rest at his residence in London on October 22, just weeks after performing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in Henley-on-Thames.
Health Struggles
During that performance, Ball performed in a wheelchair, as he had for the last two years, after a period of ill-health.
"I ended up damage myself significantly," he stated in a recent interview. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my back and fractured about five ribs and broke my arm."
Following contracting pneumonia and suffering from sepsis, he was put in an induced coma and remained in hospital for seven months.
However, he had been in "a great place mentally" during the warmer months, as he worked on a new album with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is set for release next year.
"He was concentrated and very pleased with the latest project that we actually finished only a short time ago," said the vocalist in a tribute.
"It's so sad as next year was completely planned to be such an positive year for him, and I find comfort from the fact that he heard the completed album and believed that it was a masterpiece."
Tributes
Almond described his bandmate as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", adding: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our body of work.
"Thank you Dave for being an immense part of my existence and for the music you created with me. I wouldn't be where I am without you."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, also paid tribute, recalling Ball's "endless laughter" and "steadfast support".
"Being in a duo with someone is different from joining a group, the connection is very tight," he continued.
"That's how it was with us. We went through so many remarkable, extraordinary, memorable experiences as a team. Thank you, Dave."
Early Life
Born into a one-parent family in Chester in the late 50s, Ball was put up for adoption when he was 18 months old.
He grew up in the seaside town with his new family Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his given name from his birth name to David, alongside his younger sister Susan, who was also adopted.
He met Almond at an art college in the late 70s, where they were both studying fine arts. Fuelled by a mutual passion of Northern Soul, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and quickly recorded an extended play.
Musical Partnership
The duo were an distinctive combination: Ball was the quiet technician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant showman, all sparkle and makeup; but they achieved a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had developed a fascination with synthesizers after viewing Kraftwerk perform on a television science show a popular series, and started to marry dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling single of the early 80s, shifting millions of units worldwide. Alongside successful tracks by Gary Numan, Human League and Ultravox, it helped paved the path for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The song was also included on their first album, their initial LP, which produced two further high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the album up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which reached at the second position in 1982.
Career Highlights
Success had its benefits. "I loved being able to afford my first home, having money and exploring, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball not long ago told with a publication.
But it also presented challenges. "Newfound wealth allowed we could purchase newfound drugs to relieve the boredom" of press appearances and TV performances, Ball explained.
"I know that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a valid cause, because it works for so many bands."
During the hedonistic lifestyle, the duo were also growing distant, but they succeeded to produce a second classic album - the unconventional, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released one more album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the band to concentrate on individual endeavors.
Almond went on to have a prosperous individual path, 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 enduring partnership.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell came back together in the early 2000s, producing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following a further hiatus, they reappeared in 2018, issuing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was intended to be a farewell show at the O2 Arena on 30 September, 2018.
Yet, they remained active, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic restrictions.
Ball lately described the duo's new album as a homage to the NYC nightlife they frequented while recording their first two albums.
He noted that his period in hospital had shaped the band's sound.
"I experienced unusual memories when I was in and out of hospital because I was on pain medication," he explained to a publication.
"Our latest tracks are a digital reflection of the noises in my head from that time.
"Simultaneously, it's about the times me and Marc got up to in the 1980s."
The final mixes were finished only days before Ball died. It is due for release in Spring 2026.
