Dave Ball, one half of the innovative 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the pair achieved a global success with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in 1984, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a seminal work of synth-pop.
He later founded the pioneering techno group The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully in his rest at his residence in London on October 22, just weeks after playing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in Henley-on-Thames.
Recent Health Challenges
At that performance, Ball appeared in a wheelchair, as he had for the last two years, after a spate of health issues.
"I ended up injure myself quite a bit," he stated in 2023. "I fractured spinal bones in my spine and cracked about multiple ribs and fractured my arm."
After catching pneumonia and suffering from blood poisoning, he was placed in an induced coma and stayed in the hospital for half a year.
Nevertheless, he had been in "high spirits mentally" during the warmer months, as he was developing a new album with Almond, titled the upcoming Danceteria, which is scheduled for release next year.
"He was focused and so happy with the new album that we literally completed only a short time ago," stated the singer in a tribute.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was all set to be such an positive time for him, and I find comfort from the knowledge that he listened to the completed album and believed that it was a great piece of work."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond described his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", adding: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our body of work.
"Many thanks Dave for being an significant part of my existence and for the songs you created with me. I wouldn't be where I am without your influence."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, shared his condolences, remembering Ball's "endless laughter" and "steadfast support".
"Being in a duo with someone is distinct from being in a group, the connection is very tight," he added.
"That was the case with us. We experienced so many extraordinary, extraordinary, memorable moments together. Many thanks, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a single-parent household in Chester in 1959, Ball was given up for adoption when he was a year and a half old.
He grew up in Blackpool with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his first name from Paul to David, alongside his sibling his sister, who was also adopted.
He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both learning art. Fuelled by a shared love of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the very year, and quickly recorded an extended play.
Creative Collaboration
The duo were an distinctive combination: Ball was the quiet musician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all glitter and makeup; but they achieved a rare creative synergy.
Ball had developed a interest with electronic instruments after watching Kraftwerk perform on a television science show a popular series, and started to marry moody electronic sounds to the catchy tunes Almond was composing.
Their signature song became the UK's second biggest-selling song of 1981, shifting 21 million units worldwide. Alongside hits by Gary Numan, Human League and Ultravox, it helped cleared the path for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.
The track was also included on their full-length debut, their initial LP, which produced two further high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the record up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at the second position in the following year.
Professional Journey
Success had its benefits. "I loved being able to purchase my initial property, having financial security and exploring, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball recently shared with a music magazine.
But it also presented problems. "Newfound wealth meant we could afford substances to alleviate the monotony" of press appearances and television shows, Ball said.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a valid cause, because it works for so many musicians."
Amidst the hedonistic lifestyle, the duo were also drifting apart, but they managed to create a follow-up classic album - the wayward, edgy and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released one more album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band to focus on individual endeavors.
Almond proceeded to have a prosperous individual path, including the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who mixed dance music with melodic sounds over a enduring partnership.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell came back together in 2001, producing the charting record Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following another break, they returned in 2018, releasing 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 September 30, 2018.
Yet, they stayed together, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic restrictions.
Ball recently described the band's upcoming release as a tribute to the New York club scene they frequented while recording their first two albums.
He noted that his time in hospital had influenced the band's sound.
"I had strange recollections when I was in and out of hospital because I was on morphine," he told a music magazine.
"Our latest tracks are a electronic representation of the sounds in my head from that time.
"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences me and Marc had in the 80s."
The final mixes were finished only a short time before Ball died. It is due for release in Spring 2026.
