Dave Ball, one half of the groundbreaking 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Together with vocalist Marc Almond, the team achieved a worldwide hit with their version 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 formed the innovative techno group The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with their 1994 single the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball died 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 Festival in Henley-on-Thames.
Health Struggles
During that performance, Ball appeared in a mobility chair, as he had for the last two years, following a spate of health issues.
"I managed to damage myself quite a bit," he stated in 2023. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my spine and fractured about multiple ribs and fractured my arm."
After contracting a lung infection and suffering from sepsis, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and stayed in the hospital for seven months.
However, he had been in "high spirits mentally" during the summer, as he was developing a fresh record with Almond, called the upcoming Danceteria, which is set for release next year.
"He was concentrated and very pleased with the new album that we actually completed only a few days ago," stated the singer in a tribute.
"It's so sad as next year was completely planned to be such an positive time for him, and I find comfort from the fact that he listened to the completed album and believed that it was a masterpiece."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond described his bandmate as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", adding: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our body of work.
"Thank you Dave for being an significant aspect of my existence and for the music you created with me. I wouldn't be where I am without you."
Richard Norris from The Grid, also paid tribute, remembering Ball's "endless laughter" and "steadfast support".
"Being in a partnership with someone is different from joining a band, the bond is very tight," he continued.
"That was the case with us. We went through so many remarkable, extraordinary, memorable experiences as a team. Thank you, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a single-parent household in the city of Chester in the late 50s, Ball was given up for adoption when he was a year and a half old.
He was raised in Blackpool with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who altered his given name from Paul to his adopted name, alongside his sibling Susan, who was also adopted.
He encountered Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both studying art. Fuelled by a mutual passion of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the very year, and promptly recorded an EP.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an unusual pairing: Ball was the reserved technician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all sparkle and makeup; but they achieved a rare creative synergy.
Ball had developed a fascination with electronic instruments after viewing the band Kraftwerk appear on BBC science show Tomorrow's World, and started to combine moody electronic sounds to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second most popular song of 1981, selling 21 million units globally. Alongside hits by other artists, Human League and Ultravox, it helped cleared the path for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The song was also featured on their full-length debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which spawned two additional top five hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the record up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which peaked at number two in the following year.
Career Highlights
Success had its upsides. "I loved being able to afford my initial property, having financial security and exploring, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball not long ago told with a music magazine.
But it also presented problems. "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 valid cause, because it works for so many bands."
Amidst the party-filled existence, the duo were also drifting apart, but they succeeded to create a follow-up memorable record - the wayward, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out one more LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the band to concentrate on other projects.
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 combined dance music with melodic sounds over a long-lasting partnership.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell came back together in 2001, releasing the charting album Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following another hiatus, they reappeared in recent years, releasing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was intended to be a final performance at the O2 Arena on September 30, 2018.
However, they stayed active, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.
Ball recently characterized the duo's upcoming release as a homage to the New York club scene they visited while making their first two albums.
He added that his time in medical care had influenced the group's music.
"I had unusual memories when I was coming and going of hospital because I was on morphine," he explained to a publication.
"The new songs are a digital reflection of the sounds in my head from that time.
"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences me and Marc got up to in the 80s."
The last versions were completed only a short time before Ball died. It is scheduled for release in the spring of 2026.
