Dave Ball, a key member of the innovative 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Together with vocalist Marc Almond, the team achieved a worldwide hit with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in 1984, and their first record their initial full-length release is regarded as a seminal work of electronic music.
He later founded the pioneering electronic act The Grid, who secured chart success with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his sleep at his home in London on Wednesday 22 October, only a short time after performing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in Henley-on-Thames.
Health Struggles
At that performance, Ball performed in a mobility chair, as he had for the previous couple of years, following a spate of ill-health.
"I managed to damage myself significantly," he commented in 2023. "I broke lower vertebrae in my back and cracked about multiple ribs and broke my arm."
After catching pneumonia and suffering from sepsis, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and remained in the hospital for half a year.
However, he had been in "high spirits emotionally" over the warmer months, as he worked on a new album with Almond, called Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication in the coming year.
"He was concentrated and so happy with the new album that we actually completed only a short time ago," said the vocalist in a heartfelt message.
"It's so sad as next year was completely planned to be such an uplifting time for him, and I find comfort from the fact that he listened to the completed album and believed that it was a great piece of work."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond referred to his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant 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 significant aspect of my life and for the songs you gave me. I wouldn't be where I am without you."
Richard Norris from The Grid, shared his condolences, remembering Ball's "endless laughter" and "unwavering friendship".
"Being in a duo with someone is different from being in a band, the connection 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."
Early Life
Born into a one-parent family 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 grew up in the seaside town with his new family his caregivers, who altered his first name from Paul to David, together with his younger sister Susan, who was similarly welcomed.
He encountered Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both studying art. Inspired by a mutual passion of Northern Soul, they established Soft Cell the same year, and promptly recorded an EP.
Creative Collaboration
The pair were an distinctive combination: Ball was the reserved technician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all sparkle and makeup; but they achieved a unique creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with synthesizers after viewing the band Kraftwerk appear on a television science show a popular series, and began to marry moody electronic sounds to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.
Their signature song became the UK's second biggest-selling song of the early 80s, shifting millions of units globally. Alongside hits by other artists, Human League and electronic acts, it helped paved the path for the electronic music style of the 80s.
The track was also included on their first album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which produced two additional high-charting hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the record up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which peaked at number two in 1982.
Professional Journey
Success had its upsides. "I loved being able to purchase my initial property, having financial security and exploring, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball recently told with a publication.
But it also presented problems. "Newfound wealth allowed we could purchase newfound drugs to relieve the boredom" of media interviews and television shows, Ball explained.
"I know that's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a valid cause, because it works for so many bands."
During the hedonistic lifestyle, the pair were also growing distant, but they managed to produce a second memorable record - the unconventional, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released another LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group to concentrate on individual endeavors.
Almond proceeded to have a prosperous solo career, featuring the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who mixed dance music with melodic sounds over a long-lasting collaboration.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell came back together in 2001, producing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.
After a further break, they returned in recent years, issuing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was intended to be a farewell show at the large venue on 30 September, 2018.
However, they remained together, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.
Ball recently described the duo's upcoming release as a tribute to the New York club scene they visited while recording their first two albums.
He added that his time in medical care had shaped the group's music.
"I experienced strange recollections when I was coming and going of the hospital because I was on pain medication," he told a music magazine.
"Our latest tracks are a electronic representation of the sounds in my mind from those days.
"In parallel, it's about the experiences we got up to in the 80s."
The final mixes were finished only days before Ball passed away. It is due for release in the spring of 2026.
