Dave Ball, a key member of the pioneering 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the team achieved a global success with their version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in 1984, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a seminal work of synth-pop.
He later founded the pioneering electronic act The Grid, who achieved popular acclaim with 1994's Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his sleep at his home in London on October 22, just weeks after playing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in the Thames-side town.
Health Struggles
During that performance, Ball performed in a wheelchair, as he had for the last two years, following a period of ill-health.
"I managed to damage myself significantly," he commented in 2023. "I broke spinal bones in my back and cracked about five ribs and fractured my wrist."
Following contracting pneumonia and developing blood poisoning, he was put in an induced coma and stayed in hospital for seven months.
However, he had been in "a great place emotionally" 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 new album that we literally finished only a short time ago," stated the singer in a heartfelt message.
"It's so sad 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 completed album and felt that it was a masterpiece."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond referred to his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant musical genius", adding: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our legacy.
"Thank you Dave for being an significant aspect of my life and for the songs you gave me. I wouldn't be where I am without you."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, also paid tribute, remembering Ball's "constant humor" and "steadfast support".
"Forming a duo with someone is distinct from joining a group, the bond is incredibly close," he added.
"That was the case with us. We went through so many extraordinary, extraordinary, memorable experiences as a team. Thank you, Dave."
Formative Years
Born into a one-parent family in Chester in the late 50s, Ball was given up for adoption when he was a year and a half of age.
He was raised in the seaside town with his new family Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his first name from Paul to David, alongside his sibling Susan, who was also adopted.
He encountered Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both studying fine arts. Inspired by a mutual passion of Northern Soul, they established Soft Cell the very year, and promptly recorded an extended play.
Creative Collaboration
The pair were an distinctive combination: Ball was the quiet technician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all glitter and makeup; but they attained a rare creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with electronic instruments after watching Kraftwerk perform on BBC program a popular series, and started to combine dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second most popular single of 1981, selling millions of copies globally. Alongside successful tracks by other artists, Human League and electronic acts, it contributed to paved the path for the synth-pop sound of the 80s.
The song was also included on their full-length debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which spawned two further top five singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the record up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at the second position in 1982.
Career Highlights
Success had its upsides. "I enjoyed being able to purchase my first home, having financial security and exploring, which might seem like a beauty queen," Ball not long ago shared with a music magazine.
But it also caused problems. "Newfound wealth allowed we could purchase substances to relieve the monotony" of press appearances and television shows, Ball said.
"I realize that's a common saying, but it's a cliché for a good reason, because it works for so many musicians."
Amidst the party-filled existence, the duo were also drifting apart, but they succeeded to produce a second memorable record - the unconventional, edgy and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released one more LP, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group to concentrate on other projects.
Almond went on to have a prosperous individual path, featuring the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed 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, producing the charting album Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following another break, they returned in 2018, issuing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was intended to be a farewell show at the O2 Arena on 30 September, 2018.
Yet, they remained together, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.
Ball recently characterized the duo's new album as a homage to the NYC nightlife they frequented while making their first two albums.
He noted that his period in hospital had influenced the band's sound.
"I experienced strange recollections when I was coming and going of hospital because I was on pain medication," he explained to a publication.
"The new songs are a electronic representation of the sounds in my mind from that time.
"In parallel, it's about the experiences me and Marc got up to in the 80s."
The final mixes were completed only a short time before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for launch in Spring 2026.
