Dave Ball, one half of the pioneering 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Together with singer Marc Almond, the team achieved a worldwide hit with their version of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a classic of electronic music.
He later formed the pioneering techno group The Grid, who achieved chart success with their 1994 single the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball died calmly in his sleep at his residence in London on October 22, only a short time after playing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in Henley-on-Thames.
Recent Health Challenges
At that performance, Ball performed in a wheelchair, as he had for the previous couple of years, following a spate of health issues.
"I managed to damage myself quite a bit," he stated in a recent interview. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my spine and cracked about five ribs and broke my arm."
Following catching pneumonia and suffering from sepsis, he was put in an induced coma and remained in the hospital for seven months.
Nevertheless, he had been in "a great place mentally" over the warmer months, as he was developing a new album with Almond, titled the upcoming Danceteria, which is scheduled for release in the coming year.
"He was concentrated and very pleased with the latest project that we literally finished 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 positive year for him, and I find comfort from the knowledge that he listened to the completed album and felt that it was a masterpiece."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond described his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", stating: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our legacy.
"Thank you Dave for being an immense part of my existence 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, recalling Ball's "endless laughter" and "steadfast support".
"Being in a partnership with someone is distinct from joining a band, the connection is very tight," he added.
"That's how it was with us. We experienced so many extraordinary, extraordinary, memorable experiences as a team. Thank you, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a single-parent household in the city of Chester in the late 50s, Ball was put up for adoption when he was a year and a half of age.
He grew up in the seaside town with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who altered his first name from Paul to David, alongside his younger sister his sister, who was also adopted.
He met Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both learning fine arts. Fuelled by a shared love of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the very year, and promptly recorded an EP.
Musical Partnership
The duo were an distinctive combination: Ball was the reserved technician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic showman, all glitter and makeup; but they achieved a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with synthesizers after watching the band Kraftwerk perform on BBC science show Tomorrow's World, and started to marry dark electronica to the catchy tunes Almond was composing.
Their signature song became the UK's second biggest-selling song of the early 80s, shifting 21 million copies globally. Together with hits by Gary Numan, Human League and Ultravox, it helped paved the path for the synth-pop sound of the 80s.
The song was also featured on their first album, their initial LP, which produced two additional high-charting hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the record up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which peaked at number two in the following year.
Career Highlights
Success had its upsides. "I enjoyed being able to afford my initial property, having financial security and exploring, which makes me sound like a Miss World," Ball not long ago shared with a music magazine.
But it also presented problems. "Newfound wealth allowed we could purchase newfound drugs to relieve the boredom" of media interviews and TV performances, Ball explained.
"I know that's a cliché, but it's a cliché 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 create a second memorable record - the wayward, edgy and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out another album, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band to concentrate on other projects.
Almond proceeded to have a successful solo career, featuring 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 enduring partnership.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, producing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.
After another break, they returned in recent years, releasing the new tracks 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, that year.
However, they stayed active, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.
Ball recently described the duo's new album as a tribute to the New York club scene they frequented while recording their first two albums.
He added that his time in hospital had shaped the group's music.
"I had strange recollections when I was in and out of hospital because I was on morphine," he explained to a publication.
"Our latest tracks are a electronic representation of the noises in my head from that time.
"Simultaneously, it's about the times me and Marc had in the 1980s."
The final mixes were finished only days before Ball died. It is scheduled for launch in the spring of 2026.
