Dave Ball, a key member of the innovative 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Alongside vocalist Marc Almond, the pair achieved 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 regarded as a seminal work of synth-pop.
He subsequently formed the innovative techno group The Grid, who achieved chart success with their 1994 single the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully in his rest at his home 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 show, Ball performed in a wheelchair, as he had for the last two years, after a period of health issues.
"I managed to damage myself significantly," he commented in 2023. "I broke lower vertebrae in my back and fractured about five ribs and broke my wrist."
After catching a lung infection and suffering from blood poisoning, he was placed in an medically-induced sleep and stayed in the hospital for half a year.
However, he had been in "high spirits mentally" during the summer, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, called Danceteria, which is scheduled for release in the coming year.
"He was focused and very pleased with the latest project that we actually completed only a few days ago," stated the vocalist in a heartfelt message.
"It's so sad as next year was completely planned 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 described his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant musical genius", adding: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our body of work.
"Thank you Dave for being an immense aspect of my existence and for the songs you gave me. I wouldn't be where I am without you."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, shared his condolences, recalling Ball's "endless laughter" and "steadfast support".
"Forming a duo with someone is different from being in a band, the bond is incredibly close," he added.
"That was the case with us. We experienced so many remarkable, extraordinary, life-affirming experiences together. Thank you, Dave."
Formative Years
Brought into the world into a one-parent family in the city of Chester in the late 50s, Ball was given up for adoption when he was 18 months old.
He grew up in Blackpool with adoptive parents his caregivers, who altered his first name from his birth name to David, together with his sibling Susan, who was also adopted.
He encountered Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both learning art. Fuelled by a mutual passion of Northern Soul, they formed Soft Cell the very year, and promptly recorded an extended play.
Musical Partnership
The duo were an distinctive combination: Ball was the reserved technician, hunched over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all glitter and eye-liner; but they achieved a rare creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with electronic instruments after viewing Kraftwerk appear on a television science show a popular series, and started to combine dark electronica to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second most popular song of 1981, shifting millions of copies worldwide. Alongside hits by other artists, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it helped cleared the path for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.
The song was also featured on their full-length debut, their initial LP, which produced two further top five singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the record up with the separate release, Torch, which peaked at number two in the following year.
Career Highlights
Fame had its benefits. "I enjoyed being able to purchase my initial property, having money and exploring, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball not long ago told with a music magazine.
But it also caused problems. "Newfound wealth allowed we could afford newfound drugs to alleviate the boredom" of media interviews and television shows, Ball explained.
"I realize that's a common saying, but it's a truism for a good reason, because it applies for so many bands."
During the party-filled existence, the pair were also drifting apart, but they succeeded to create a second classic album - the unconventional, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out one more album, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band to concentrate on other projects.
Almond proceeded to have a successful individual path, featuring the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who combined acid house with melodic sounds over a long-lasting partnership.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, producing the Top 40 album Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following another hiatus, they returned in 2018, issuing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was supposed 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 2020 Covid lockdown.
Ball lately characterized the duo's upcoming release as a homage to the NYC nightlife they frequented while recording their first two albums.
He added that his time in hospital had shaped the band's sound.
"I experienced unusual memories when I was in and out of hospital because I was on morphine," he told a music magazine.
"The new songs are a electronic representation of the sounds in my head from that time.
"In parallel, it's about the times me and Marc got up to in the 80s."
The final mixes were finished only a short time before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for launch in Spring 2026.
