Dave Ball, one half of the groundbreaking 1980s electronic music band 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 Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a classic of electronic music.
He later founded the pioneering techno group The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with their 1994 single Swamp Thing.
Ball died peacefully in his sleep at his residence in London on Wednesday 22 October, just weeks after playing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in the Thames-side town.
Health Struggles
At that performance, Ball appeared in a mobility chair, as he had for the previous couple of years, after a period of ill-health.
"I managed to injure myself quite a bit," he commented in 2023. "I broke spinal bones in my spine and cracked about five ribs and broke my wrist."
After catching pneumonia and developing blood poisoning, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and remained in the hospital for seven months.
However, he had been in "high spirits emotionally" over the summer, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, called Danceteria, which is scheduled for release next year.
"He was focused and very pleased with the latest project that we actually completed only a short time ago," said the singer in a heartfelt message.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was completely planned to be such an positive year for him, and I take some solace from the fact that he listened to the finished record and felt that it was a great piece of work."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond described his collaborator as "an exceptionally talented creative mastermind", 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 life and for the music you gave me. I wouldn't be where I am without your influence."
Richard Norris from The Grid, also paid tribute, recalling Ball's "endless laughter" and "unwavering friendship".
"Forming a duo with someone is distinct from joining a group, the connection is very tight," he added.
"That's how it was with us. We experienced so many remarkable, extraordinary, memorable moments together. Many thanks, Dave."
Early Life
Born into a single-parent household in the city of Chester in 1959, Ball was put up for adoption when he was 18 months old.
He grew up in Blackpool with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who altered his given name from Paul to David, alongside his younger sister Susan, who was similarly welcomed.
He met Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in the late 70s, where they were both studying fine arts. Fuelled by a mutual passion of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the very year, and promptly produced an extended play.
Creative Collaboration
The pair were an unusual combination: Ball was the quiet musician, hunched over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic showman, all sparkle and makeup; but they attained a rare creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with synthesizers after watching Kraftwerk appear on a television science show a popular series, and started to combine dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second most popular song of the early 80s, shifting 21 million copies globally. Together with hits by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it helped paved the path for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The track was also included on their full-length debut, their initial LP, which produced two additional 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 benefits. "I enjoyed being able to afford my initial property, having money and exploring, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball recently told with a music magazine.
But it also presented problems. "Sudden riches allowed we could purchase substances to alleviate the monotony" of press appearances and TV performances, Ball explained.
"I realize that's a common saying, but it's a cliché for a valid cause, because it applies for so many musicians."
Amidst the party-filled existence, the pair were also growing distant, but they succeeded to produce a follow-up memorable record - the wayward, edgy and fittingly named 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 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 acid house with melodic sounds over a long-lasting partnership.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell reunited in 2001, releasing the charting record Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following a further break, they returned in 2018, releasing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was supposed to be a farewell show at the large venue on 30 September, 2018.
Yet, they remained active, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic restrictions.
Ball lately characterized the band's new album as a homage to the NYC nightlife they visited while recording their initial records.
He added that his period in medical care had influenced the group's music.
"I experienced unusual memories when I was in and out of the hospital because I was on morphine," he explained to a music magazine.
"Our latest tracks are a electronic representation of the noises in my head from that time.
"Simultaneously, it's about the times me and Marc got up to in the 1980s."
The final mixes were finished only a short time before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for release in Spring 2026.
