Dave Ball, one half of the innovative 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Together with singer Marc Almond, the team scored a global success with their cover 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 electronic act The Grid, who achieved chart success with their 1994 single the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball died peacefully in his sleep at his home 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
During that show, Ball performed in a wheelchair, as he had for the previous couple of years, after a spate of ill-health.
"I ended up injure myself quite a bit," he stated in 2023. "I broke lower vertebrae in my spine and cracked about multiple ribs and fractured my arm."
After catching pneumonia and developing blood poisoning, he was placed 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 was developing a new album with Almond, called the upcoming Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication next year.
"He was focused and very pleased with the latest project that we actually finished only a short time ago," said the singer in a tribute.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was completely planned to be such an uplifting time for him, and I take some solace from the knowledge that he heard the finished record and felt that it was a masterpiece."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond described his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", stating: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our body of work.
"Thank you Dave for being an significant aspect of my life and for the songs you gave me. I couldn't be where I am without you."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, shared his condolences, remembering Ball's "constant humor" and "unwavering friendship".
"Forming a duo with someone is distinct from joining a group, the connection is incredibly close," he added.
"That was the case with us. We experienced so many remarkable, extraordinary, memorable moments 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 given up for adoption when he was 18 months old.
He grew up in the seaside town with his new family Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his given name from Paul to David, alongside his sibling his sister, who was also adopted.
He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in the late 70s, where they were both studying fine arts. Inspired by a shared love of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the same year, and quickly recorded an extended play.
Creative Collaboration
The pair were an distinctive pairing: Ball was the quiet technician, hunched over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all glitter and eye-liner; but they attained a rare creative synergy.
Ball had developed a fascination with synthesizers after viewing Kraftwerk perform on BBC program Tomorrow's World, and began to combine moody electronic sounds to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.
Their signature song became the UK's second biggest-selling song of the early 80s, shifting 21 million copies worldwide. Alongside successful tracks by Gary Numan, Human League and electronic acts, it helped cleared 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 high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the album up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which reached at the second position in the following year.
Career Highlights
Fame had its upsides. "I loved being able to purchase my first home, having money and travelling, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball not long ago told with a publication.
But it also presented challenges. "Newfound wealth meant we could afford substances to relieve the monotony" of media interviews and television shows, Ball explained.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a valid cause, because it works for so many musicians."
During the hedonistic lifestyle, the duo were also growing distant, but they succeeded to produce a second memorable record - the unconventional, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out one more LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the band to concentrate on other projects.
Almond went on to have a successful solo career, including the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who combined dance music with melodic sounds over a long-lasting partnership.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell reunited in 2001, releasing the Top 40 album 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 performing what was intended to be a farewell show at the O2 Arena on 30 September, that year.
Yet, they stayed together, recording their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.
Ball recently characterized the band's upcoming release as a tribute to the NYC nightlife they frequented while making their first two albums.
He noted that his time in medical care had influenced the group's music.
"I experienced strange recollections when I was in and out of hospital because I was on pain medication," he explained to a music magazine.
"The new songs are a electronic representation of the sounds in my mind from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the times me and Marc had in the 80s."
The final mixes were completed only a short time before Ball died. It is due for launch in Spring 2026.
