Dave Ball, a key member of the pioneering 1980s synth-pop duo Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Together with vocalist Marc Almond, the duo scored a worldwide hit with their version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record their initial full-length release is regarded as a classic of electronic music.
He later founded the innovative techno group The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with 1994's Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully in his rest at his home in London on October 22, just weeks after playing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in the Thames-side town.
Recent Health Challenges
During that show, Ball performed in a mobility chair, as he had for the previous couple of years, after a spate of health issues.
"I ended up damage myself significantly," he commented in a recent interview. "I broke lower vertebrae in my back and fractured about multiple ribs and broke my wrist."
After catching a lung infection and suffering from blood poisoning, he was placed in an medically-induced sleep and stayed in hospital for seven months.
However, he had been in "high spirits emotionally" over the summer, as he was developing a new album with Almond, called Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication next year.
"He was focused and so happy with the latest project that we literally completed only a short time ago," said the vocalist in a tribute.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was all set to be such an positive time for him, and I find comfort from the fact that he heard the completed album and felt that it was a masterpiece."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond referred to his collaborator as "an exceptionally talented musical genius", adding: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our body of work.
"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, shared his condolences, remembering Ball's "constant humor" and "unwavering friendship".
"Forming a duo with someone is different from being in a band, the connection is incredibly close," he continued.
"That's how it was with us. We went through so many remarkable, extraordinary, life-affirming moments together. Many thanks, Dave."
Formative Years
Born into a single-parent household in Chester in 1959, Ball was given up for adoption when he was a year and a half old.
He grew up in Blackpool with his new family Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his first name from Paul to David, alongside his sibling Susan, who was also adopted.
He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both studying art. Fuelled by a shared love of Northern Soul, they established Soft Cell the very year, and quickly recorded an extended play.
Creative Collaboration
The pair were an distinctive combination: Ball was the reserved technician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a charismatic showman, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they attained a rare creative synergy.
Ball had developed a interest with synthesizers after watching the band Kraftwerk appear on a television program 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 worldwide. Together with successful tracks by other artists, Human League and Ultravox, it helped paved the way for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.
The song 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 peaked at the second position in 1982.
Career Highlights
Fame had its benefits. "I enjoyed being able to purchase my initial property, having financial security and exploring, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball recently shared with a music magazine.
But it also presented challenges. "Sudden riches allowed we could afford substances to relieve the boredom" of press appearances and TV performances, Ball said.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a valid cause, because it works for so many bands."
Amidst the hedonistic lifestyle, the pair were also drifting apart, but they succeeded to produce a second memorable record - the unconventional, edgy and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out another LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group to concentrate on individual endeavors.
Almond went on to have a prosperous individual path, featuring the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who mixed dance music with melodic sounds over a long-lasting partnership.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, producing the charting record Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following a further hiatus, they returned in recent years, releasing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was supposed to be a final performance at the O2 Arena on 30 September, that year.
However, they stayed together, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.
Ball recently described the band's new album as a tribute to the NYC nightlife they visited while recording their initial records.
He noted that his period in medical care had influenced the group's music.
"I had unusual memories when I was coming and going of hospital because I was on pain medication," he explained to a music magazine.
"Our latest tracks are a electronic representation of the noises in my mind from that time.
"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences 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.
