Dave Ball, one half of the innovative 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Alongside vocalist Marc Almond, the team scored 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 regarded as a seminal work of synth-pop.
He later formed the innovative techno group The Grid, who achieved chart success with their 1994 single Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully in his rest at his residence in London on Wednesday 22 October, just weeks after playing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in Henley-on-Thames.
Recent Health Challenges
During that show, Ball performed in a wheelchair, as he had for the previous couple of years, after a spate of ill-health.
"I ended up injure myself quite a bit," he commented in a recent interview. "I broke lower vertebrae in my back and cracked about five ribs and fractured my wrist."
Following contracting a lung infection and developing blood poisoning, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and remained in hospital for half a year.
Nevertheless, he had been in "a great place emotionally" over the summer, as he worked on a new album with Almond, called the upcoming Danceteria, which is scheduled for release next year.
"He was focused 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 positive year for him, and I find comfort from the knowledge that he heard the finished record and believed that it was a masterpiece."
Tributes
Almond referred to his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant musical genius", stating: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our legacy.
"Many thanks Dave for being an immense part of my existence and for the songs you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without your influence."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, shared his condolences, remembering Ball's "endless laughter" and "unwavering friendship".
"Being in a duo with someone is distinct from joining a band, the connection is very tight," he continued.
"That's how it was with us. We went through so many extraordinary, incredible, life-affirming experiences as a team. Thank you, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world 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 the seaside town with adoptive parents his caregivers, who changed his first name from his birth name to his adopted name, together with his sibling his sister, who was similarly welcomed.
He met Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both learning art. Inspired by a mutual passion of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and quickly recorded an extended play.
Creative Collaboration
The pair were an unusual pairing: Ball was the reserved technician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all sparkle and makeup; but they achieved a unique creative synergy.
Ball had developed a fascination with synthesizers after watching Kraftwerk perform on a television program Tomorrow's World, and began to marry moody electronic sounds to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second most popular single of 1981, selling 21 million copies worldwide. Together with hits by other artists, Human League and Ultravox, it contributed to cleared the way for the synth-pop sound of the 80s.
The track was also included on their first album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which produced two further high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the record up with the separate release, Torch, which peaked at the second position in the following year.
Professional Journey
Success had its upsides. "I loved being able to purchase my first home, having financial security and exploring, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball recently shared with a music magazine.
But it also caused problems. "Newfound wealth meant we could purchase newfound drugs to relieve the boredom" of media interviews and TV performances, Ball explained.
"I realize that's a common saying, but it's a truism for a valid cause, because it works for so many bands."
Amidst the party-filled existence, the pair were also drifting apart, but they managed to produce a second classic album - the wayward, 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 individual endeavors.
Almond went on to have a prosperous solo career, featuring the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who combined acid house with melodic sounds over a enduring partnership.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell came back together in 2001, producing the charting record Cruelty Without Beauty.
After a further hiatus, they returned in 2018, issuing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was supposed to be a farewell show at the large venue on September 30, 2018.
Yet, they remained together, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.
Ball lately characterized the band's upcoming release as a tribute to the NYC nightlife they visited while making their first two albums.
He added that his period in hospital had influenced the group's music.
"I experienced strange recollections when I was coming and going of hospital because I was on morphine," he explained to a publication.
"Our latest tracks are a digital reflection of the noises in my head from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the times me and Marc had in the 80s."
The last versions were finished only days before Ball passed away. It is due for release in the spring of 2026.
