Dave Ball, a key member of the innovative 1980s synth-pop band Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the pair achieved a global success with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a classic of electronic music.
He later formed the innovative techno group The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with their 1994 single the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball died peacefully in his sleep at his home in London on October 22, just weeks after performing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in the Thames-side town.
Recent Health Challenges
At that show, Ball performed in a mobility chair, as he had for the previous couple of years, following a spate of health issues.
"I managed to damage myself quite a bit," he commented in a recent interview. "I fractured spinal bones in my spine and fractured about five ribs and fractured my wrist."
After catching pneumonia and developing blood poisoning, he was put in an induced coma and remained in hospital for seven months.
However, he had been in "high spirits emotionally" during the warmer months, as he worked on a new album with Almond, titled the upcoming Danceteria, which is scheduled for release in the coming year.
"He was concentrated and very pleased with the new album that we literally completed only a few days ago," stated the vocalist in a heartfelt message.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was all set to be such an uplifting time for him, and I find comfort from the fact that he listened to the finished record and felt that it was a masterpiece."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond described his bandmate as "an exceptionally talented creative mastermind", stating: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our legacy.
"Thank you Dave for being an significant part of my existence and for the music you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without you."
Richard Norris from The Grid, shared his condolences, remembering Ball's "constant humor" and "steadfast support".
"Forming a duo with someone is different from joining a group, the bond is very tight," he continued.
"That's how it was with us. We experienced so many remarkable, extraordinary, life-affirming experiences as a team. Many thanks, Dave."
Formative Years
Born into a single-parent household in the city of Chester in 1959, Ball was put up for adoption when he was a year and a half of age.
He was raised in Blackpool with adoptive parents his caregivers, who changed his first name from his birth name to David, together with his sibling his sister, who was similarly welcomed.
He met Almond at an art college in the late 70s, where they were both studying art. Inspired by a mutual passion of Northern Soul, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and promptly produced an EP.
Musical Partnership
The duo were an distinctive combination: Ball was the quiet technician, hunched over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic showman, all glitter and eye-liner; but they achieved a unique creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with synthesizers after watching the band Kraftwerk appear on a television program a popular series, and began to combine moody electronic sounds to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second biggest-selling song of 1981, selling millions of copies worldwide. Alongside hits by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it contributed to paved the path for the electronic music style of the 80s.
The track was also included on their full-length debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which produced two additional high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the record up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which reached at number two in 1982.
Career Highlights
Fame had its benefits. "I enjoyed being able to afford my initial property, having money and travelling, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball recently shared with a publication.
But it also presented problems. "Newfound wealth meant we could purchase substances to relieve the boredom" of media interviews and TV performances, Ball said.
"I know that's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a good reason, because it works for so many musicians."
During the hedonistic lifestyle, the duo were also drifting apart, but they managed to produce a follow-up memorable record - the wayward, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released another album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band to focus on individual endeavors.
Almond went on to have a prosperous solo career, including the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who combined dance music with melodic sounds over a long-lasting collaboration.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell came back together in 2001, releasing the Top 40 album Cruelty Without Beauty.
After a further break, they reappeared in 2018, releasing the original singles 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, that year.
However, they stayed active, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic restrictions.
Ball recently described the duo's new album as a homage to the New York club scene they frequented while recording their initial records.
He noted that his period in medical care had shaped the group's music.
"I experienced strange recollections when I was in and out of the hospital because I was on pain medication," he explained to a music magazine.
"Our latest tracks are a digital reflection of the sounds in my head from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the times me and Marc had in the 1980s."
The final mixes were completed only a short time before Ball passed away. It is due for release in the spring of 2026.
