Dave Ball, a key member of the groundbreaking 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the team achieved a global success with their cover of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in 1984, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a classic of synth-pop.
He subsequently formed the innovative techno group The Grid, who achieved chart success with 1994's Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully in his rest at his home in London on Wednesday 22 October, just weeks after performing a featured performance 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 previous couple of years, after a period of ill-health.
"I ended up injure myself significantly," he commented in 2023. "I fractured spinal bones in my spine and fractured about multiple ribs and fractured my wrist."
Following catching pneumonia and suffering from sepsis, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and remained in the hospital for seven months.
Nevertheless, he had been in "a great place mentally" during the summer, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is set for publication next year.
"He was focused and so happy with the new album that we literally finished only a short time ago," said the vocalist in a heartfelt message.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was completely planned to be such an positive year for him, and I find comfort from the fact that he heard the completed album and believed that it was a masterpiece."
Tributes
Almond described his bandmate as "a wonderfully brilliant musical genius", adding: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our legacy.
"Thank you Dave for being an immense part of my life and for the music you gave me. I wouldn't be where I am without your influence."
Richard Norris from The Grid, shared his condolences, remembering Ball's "endless laughter" and "steadfast support".
"Being in a duo with someone is distinct from joining a group, the bond is very tight," he added.
"That was the case with us. We experienced so many extraordinary, extraordinary, memorable experiences as a team. Many thanks, Dave."
Formative Years
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 of age.
He grew up in the seaside town with his new family Donald and Brenda Ball, who altered his first name from Paul to his adopted name, together with his sibling Susan, who was also adopted.
He met Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in the late 70s, where they were both learning art. Inspired by a mutual passion of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the very year, and promptly produced an extended play.
Creative Collaboration
The duo were an unusual pairing: Ball was the quiet technician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all glitter and makeup; but they attained a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with electronic instruments after viewing the band Kraftwerk appear on BBC program Tomorrow's World, and began to combine moody electronic sounds to the catchy tunes Almond was composing.
Their signature song became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling song of 1981, selling millions of units worldwide. Alongside successful tracks by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it contributed to paved the path for the electronic music style of the 80s.
The song was also included on their first album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which produced two further top five singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the record up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at number two in 1982.
Career Highlights
Success had its upsides. "I enjoyed being able to purchase my initial property, having money and exploring, which makes me sound like a Miss World," Ball recently shared with a publication.
But it also presented problems. "Sudden riches meant we could afford substances to alleviate the boredom" of press appearances and TV performances, Ball explained.
"I know that's a common saying, but it's a truism for a valid cause, because it works for so many musicians."
Amidst the party-filled existence, the duo were also growing distant, but they managed to produce a second memorable record - the wayward, edgy and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out another LP, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band to concentrate on other projects.
Almond proceeded to have a successful solo career, including the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who mixed acid house with ambient pop over a enduring collaboration.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, producing the charting record Cruelty Without Beauty.
After a further hiatus, they reappeared in 2018, issuing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was intended to be a farewell show at the O2 Arena on 30 September, 2018.
Yet, they stayed together, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.
Ball recently described the duo's upcoming release as a tribute to the New York club scene they visited while recording their initial records.
He added that his time in medical care had shaped the band's sound.
"I experienced unusual memories when I was coming and going of the hospital because I was on morphine," he told a publication.
"The new songs are a electronic representation of the sounds in my head from those days.
"In parallel, it's about the times we got up to in the 1980s."
The final mixes were finished only a short time before Ball died. It is due for release in the spring of 2026.
