Dave Ball, one half of the pioneering 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Together with singer Marc Almond, the duo scored a worldwide hit with their version of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in 1984, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a seminal work of synth-pop.
He subsequently formed the innovative techno group The Grid, who achieved popular acclaim with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball died peacefully in his rest at his home in London on Wednesday 22 October, only a short time after performing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in the Thames-side town.
Health Struggles
At that performance, Ball appeared 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 stated in 2023. "I fractured spinal bones in my spine and fractured about five ribs and broke my wrist."
After contracting pneumonia 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 warmer months, as he worked on a new album with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication next year.
"He was focused and so happy with the latest project that we actually completed only a short time ago," stated the vocalist in a tribute.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was all set to be such an positive year for him, and I find comfort from the fact that he listened to the completed album and believed that it was a masterpiece."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond referred to his bandmate as "a wonderfully brilliant musical genius", stating: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our legacy.
"Thank you Dave for being an significant aspect of my existence and for the music you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without you."
Richard Norris from The Grid, shared his condolences, remembering Ball's "constant humor" and "unwavering friendship".
"Forming a duo with someone is different from joining a band, the connection is incredibly close," he continued.
"That was the case with us. We experienced so many remarkable, extraordinary, memorable moments together. Many thanks, Dave."
Formative Years
Born into a one-parent family in Chester in the late 50s, Ball was given up for adoption when he was 18 months of age.
He was raised in the seaside town with adoptive parents his caregivers, who altered his given name from his birth name 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 fine arts. Fuelled by a mutual passion of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the very year, and promptly produced an EP.
Musical Partnership
The duo were an unusual combination: Ball was the quiet technician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant showman, all glitter and makeup; but they achieved a rare creative synergy.
Ball had developed a interest with synthesizers after watching the band Kraftwerk appear on a television science show Tomorrow's World, and began to combine dark electronica to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.
Their signature song became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling single of 1981, selling 21 million units globally. Alongside successful tracks by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it contributed to cleared the path for the electronic music style of the 80s.
The track was also included on their first album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which spawned two further top five singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the album up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at the second position in the following year.
Professional Journey
Fame had its benefits. "I loved being able to afford my first home, having financial security and travelling, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball recently told with a music magazine.
But it also caused problems. "Sudden riches allowed we could afford substances to alleviate the boredom" of press appearances and television shows, Ball explained.
"I know that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a good reason, because it applies for so many musicians."
Amidst the hedonistic lifestyle, the duo were also growing distant, but they managed to produce a follow-up memorable record - the wayward, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released one more album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group to focus on other projects.
Almond went on to have a prosperous solo career, including the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who mixed dance music with ambient pop over a long-lasting collaboration.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell came back together in the early 2000s, producing the charting record Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following a further hiatus, they reappeared in recent years, releasing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was supposed to be a final performance at the O2 Arena on 30 September, that year.
However, they remained together, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.
Ball lately characterized 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 group's music.
"I experienced unusual memories when I was coming and going of the hospital because I was on morphine," he explained to a publication.
"The new songs are a digital reflection of the noises in my head from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences we got up to in the 1980s."
The final mixes were finished only a short time before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for launch in the spring of 2026.
