Dave Ball, one half of the innovative 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the pair achieved a worldwide hit with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record their initial full-length release is considered a seminal work of electronic music.
He later formed the innovative techno group The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with their 1994 single the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully in his rest at his residence in London on Wednesday 22 October, just weeks after performing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in Henley-on-Thames.
Recent Health Challenges
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 significantly," he commented in 2023. "I fractured spinal bones in my back and fractured about five ribs and broke my arm."
After catching pneumonia and suffering from blood poisoning, he was placed in an induced coma and stayed in hospital for half a year.
However, he had been in "high spirits mentally" over the warmer months, as he was developing a new album with Almond, titled the upcoming Danceteria, which is set for publication next year.
"He was concentrated and so happy 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 time for him, and I take some solace from the fact that he listened to the finished record and believed that it was a masterpiece."
Tributes
Almond described his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant musical genius", adding: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our body of work.
"Thank you Dave for being an immense aspect of my existence and for the music you created with me. I wouldn't be where I am without you."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, shared his condolences, recalling Ball's "constant humor" and "unwavering friendship".
"Forming a duo with someone is distinct from being in a band, the connection is incredibly close," he continued.
"That's how it was with us. We went through so many extraordinary, extraordinary, memorable experiences as a team. Thank you, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world 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 adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who altered his given name from Paul to David, together with his younger sister Susan, who was also adopted.
He encountered Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both studying art. Fuelled by a mutual passion of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the very year, and promptly produced an extended play.
Creative Collaboration
The pair were an distinctive pairing: Ball was the reserved musician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all glitter and makeup; but they attained a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had developed a interest with electronic instruments after watching Kraftwerk perform on a television science show Tomorrow's World, and began to marry moody electronic sounds to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second most popular song of the early 80s, shifting 21 million units worldwide. Together with hits by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it contributed to cleared the path for the synth-pop sound of the 80s.
The song was also included on their first album, their initial LP, which produced two additional high-charting hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the album up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which reached at the second position in 1982.
Professional Journey
Fame had its upsides. "I enjoyed being able to afford my initial property, having financial security and exploring, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball not long ago told with a publication.
But it also presented problems. "Newfound wealth meant we could afford newfound drugs to alleviate the boredom" of media interviews and television shows, Ball explained.
"I know that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a valid cause, because it applies for so many musicians."
During the hedonistic lifestyle, the duo were also drifting apart, but they succeeded to produce a follow-up memorable record - the unconventional, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out one more LP, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group to concentrate on other projects.
Almond went on to have a prosperous solo career, including the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who combined dance music with ambient pop over a enduring collaboration.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell reunited in 2001, producing the charting album Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following a further break, they reappeared in 2018, 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.
Yet, they remained together, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.
Ball recently characterized the duo's new album as a homage to the NYC nightlife they frequented while making their initial records.
He added that his period in hospital had shaped the group's music.
"I had unusual memories when I was in and out of 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 that time.
"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences we got up to in the 1980s."
The final mixes were finished only a short time before Ball died. It is scheduled for launch in Spring 2026.
