Dave Ball, a key member of the groundbreaking 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Together with singer Marc Almond, the team scored 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 considered a classic of synth-pop.
He later formed the innovative electronic act The Grid, who secured chart success with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball died peacefully in his sleep at his residence in London on Wednesday 22 October, just weeks after playing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in the Thames-side town.
Health Struggles
At that show, Ball performed in a wheelchair, as he had for the previous couple of years, following a period of ill-health.
"I managed to injure myself significantly," he stated in a recent interview. "I broke spinal bones in my spine and cracked about five ribs and fractured my arm."
After catching a lung infection and suffering from sepsis, he was placed in an medically-induced sleep and stayed in the hospital for half a year.
However, he had been in "a great place emotionally" during the summer, as he was developing a new album with Almond, titled the upcoming Danceteria, which is set for publication next year.
"He was focused and very pleased with the new album that we actually finished only a few days ago," stated the singer in a heartfelt message.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was completely planned to be such an uplifting year for him, and I take some solace from the knowledge that he heard the completed album and felt that it was a great piece of work."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond described 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 body of work.
"Many thanks Dave for being an immense aspect of my life 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 "constant humor" and "unwavering friendship".
"Being in a partnership with someone is different from joining a band, the bond is very tight," he added.
"That was the case 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 the late 50s, Ball was put up for adoption when he was a year and a half old.
He was raised in Blackpool with his new family Donald and Brenda Ball, who altered his first name from Paul to David, together with his sibling his sister, who was also adopted.
He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in the late 70s, where they were both learning art. Inspired by a shared love of Northern Soul, they established Soft Cell the very year, and promptly produced an extended play.
Creative Collaboration
The duo were an distinctive combination: Ball was the reserved technician, hunched over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all sparkle and makeup; but they attained a unique creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with electronic instruments after viewing the band Kraftwerk appear on BBC program a popular series, and started to marry dark electronica to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling song of the early 80s, selling 21 million units worldwide. Together with hits by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it helped cleared the path for the synth-pop sound of the 80s.
The track was also featured on their first album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which spawned two additional high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the album up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at number two in 1982.
Professional Journey
Fame had its benefits. "I loved being able to purchase my first home, having financial security and travelling, which makes me sound like a Miss World," Ball recently shared with a music magazine.
But it also presented challenges. "Newfound wealth meant we could afford substances to alleviate the monotony" of media interviews and television shows, Ball said.
"I know that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a good reason, because it applies for so many bands."
During the party-filled existence, the pair were also growing distant, but they managed to produce a second classic album - the wayward, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released one more album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the band to focus on individual endeavors.
Almond proceeded to have a prosperous individual path, 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 the early 2000s, releasing the charting album Cruelty Without Beauty.
After a further break, they reappeared in recent years, issuing 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.
Yet, they remained together, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.
Ball lately described the band's new album as a homage to the New York club scene they frequented while making their initial records.
He noted that his period in hospital had shaped the band's sound.
"I had unusual memories when I was in and out of hospital because I was on morphine," he explained to a publication.
"The new songs are a digital reflection of the noises in my mind from those days.
"In parallel, it's about the times me and Marc had in the 1980s."
The final mixes were finished only days before Ball passed away. It is due for release in the spring of 2026.
