Dave Ball, a key member of the innovative 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Together with vocalist Marc Almond, the pair scored a global success with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in 1984, and their debut album their initial full-length release is regarded as a seminal work of synth-pop.
He later formed the pioneering electronic act The Grid, who secured chart success with their 1994 single Swamp Thing.
Ball died peacefully in his sleep at his home in London on October 22, just weeks after playing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in the Thames-side town.
Health Struggles
During that performance, Ball appeared in a wheelchair, as he had for the previous couple of years, following a spate of health issues.
"I ended up damage myself significantly," he commented in 2023. "I fractured spinal bones in my spine and cracked about multiple ribs and fractured my arm."
After contracting a lung infection and developing blood poisoning, he was put in an induced coma and stayed in hospital for half a year.
Nevertheless, he had been in "a great place mentally" during the summer, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is set for publication in the coming year.
"He was focused and very pleased with the new album that we actually completed only a short time ago," said the singer in a tribute.
"It's so sad as next year was all set to be such an positive year for him, and I take some solace from the knowledge that he listened to the completed album and felt that it was a masterpiece."
Tributes
Almond described his collaborator as "an exceptionally talented creative mastermind", stating: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our body of work.
"Thank you Dave for being an immense part of my existence and for the songs you created with me. I wouldn't be where I am without you."
Richard Norris from The Grid, also paid tribute, recalling Ball's "constant humor" and "unwavering friendship".
"Being in a duo with someone is distinct from joining a band, the bond is very tight," he continued.
"That's how it was with us. We experienced so many remarkable, incredible, life-affirming moments together. Many thanks, Dave."
Formative Years
Born into a one-parent family in Chester in 1959, Ball was given up for adoption when he was a year and a half old.
He was raised in Blackpool with his new family his caregivers, who altered his first name from Paul to David, together with his younger sister Susan, who was also adopted.
He met Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both learning fine arts. Inspired by a mutual passion of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and quickly recorded an extended play.
Creative Collaboration
The duo were an unusual combination: Ball was the quiet musician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all glitter and eye-liner; but they attained a rare musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with synthesizers after watching the band Kraftwerk appear on a television science show a popular series, and started to marry moody electronic sounds to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.
Their signature song became the UK's second biggest-selling song of 1981, shifting 21 million copies worldwide. Together with hits by other artists, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it contributed to paved the way for the synth-pop sound of the 80s.
The track was also featured on their full-length debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which produced two additional high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the album up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which peaked at number two in the following year.
Professional Journey
Success had its benefits. "I loved being able to purchase my first home, having money and travelling, which makes me sound like a Miss World," Ball not long ago told with a publication.
But it also presented problems. "Newfound wealth meant we could afford substances to alleviate the boredom" of press appearances and TV performances, Ball explained.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a valid cause, because it applies for so many bands."
Amidst the hedonistic lifestyle, the pair were also growing distant, but they managed to produce a second memorable record - the unconventional, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released one more LP, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the band to focus on other projects.
Almond proceeded 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 combined acid house with ambient pop over a enduring partnership.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, releasing the charting album Cruelty Without Beauty.
After another hiatus, they returned in recent years, releasing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was intended to be a final performance at the O2 Arena on 30 September, 2018.
However, they stayed together, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.
Ball recently described the duo's new album as a tribute to the New York club scene they frequented while making their first two albums.
He noted that his time in hospital had shaped the band's sound.
"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 head from that time.
"In parallel, it's about the experiences me and Marc had in the 80s."
The last versions were finished only a short time before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for release in the spring of 2026.
