Dave Ball, one half of the pioneering 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Together with vocalist Marc Almond, the pair achieved a global success with their cover of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a classic of electronic music.
He later founded the innovative electronic act The Grid, who achieved chart success with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his sleep at his home in London on October 22, only a short time after performing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in Henley-on-Thames.
Recent Health Challenges
At that performance, Ball appeared in a mobility chair, as he had for the last two years, following a spate of ill-health.
"I managed to damage myself significantly," he stated in a recent interview. "I broke lower vertebrae in my back and fractured about five ribs and broke my arm."
After catching a lung infection and developing blood poisoning, he was placed in an medically-induced sleep and stayed in the hospital for seven months.
Nevertheless, he had been in "high spirits emotionally" during the warmer months, as he was developing a new album with Almond, called Danceteria, which is set for publication next year.
"He was focused 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 truly heartbreaking as next year was completely planned to be such an uplifting time for him, and I take some solace from the fact that he listened to the completed album and believed that it was a masterpiece."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond described his collaborator as "an exceptionally talented musical genius", stating: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our legacy.
"Many thanks Dave for being an significant part of my life and for the music you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without your influence."
Richard Norris from The Grid, shared his condolences, remembering Ball's "constant humor" and "unwavering friendship".
"Being in a partnership with someone is different 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 as a team. Thank you, Dave."
Formative Years
Born into a one-parent family in the city of Chester in the late 50s, Ball was put up for adoption when he was a year and a half old.
He was raised in Blackpool with his new family Donald and Brenda Ball, who altered his first name from his birth name to David, together with his sibling Susan, who was also adopted.
He encountered Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both learning fine arts. Fuelled by a shared love of Northern Soul, they established Soft Cell the same year, and quickly produced an extended play.
Creative Collaboration
The duo were an distinctive combination: Ball was the quiet technician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all sparkle and makeup; but they attained a rare creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with synthesizers after viewing the band Kraftwerk appear on a television science show Tomorrow's World, and started to combine dark electronica to the catchy tunes Almond was composing.
Their signature song became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling song of 1981, shifting millions of units globally. Alongside hits by other artists, Human League and Ultravox, it helped paved the path for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The song was also featured on their first album, their initial LP, which spawned two further top five hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the record up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at the second position in 1982.
Career Highlights
Fame had its benefits. "I loved being able to afford my initial property, having financial security and travelling, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball recently shared with a publication.
But it also presented challenges. "Newfound wealth allowed we could purchase newfound drugs to alleviate the monotony" 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 bands."
During the party-filled existence, the pair were also drifting apart, but they managed to create a second classic album - the unconventional, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out another album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group to focus on other projects.
Almond proceeded to have a prosperous solo career, featuring the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who mixed dance music with ambient pop over a enduring partnership.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell reunited in 2001, releasing the charting record Cruelty Without Beauty.
After another break, they reappeared in 2018, issuing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was supposed to be a final performance at the large venue on 30 September, 2018.
However, they stayed active, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.
Ball lately characterized the band's new album as a tribute to the New York club scene they frequented while recording their initial records.
He added that his time in medical care had shaped the band's sound.
"I experienced strange recollections when I was in and out of the hospital because I was on morphine," he told a music magazine.
"Our latest tracks are a digital reflection of the noises in my mind from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences me and Marc had in the 1980s."
The final mixes were completed only days before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for release in Spring 2026.
