Dave Ball, a key member of the groundbreaking 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the duo scored a global success with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their debut album their initial full-length release is considered a seminal work of electronic music.
He subsequently formed the pioneering techno group The Grid, who secured chart success with their 1994 single Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his rest at his residence in London on October 22, just weeks after performing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in Henley-on-Thames.
Health Struggles
During 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 commented in a recent interview. "I broke lower vertebrae in my spine and fractured about five ribs and fractured my arm."
Following contracting pneumonia and suffering from blood poisoning, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and stayed in the hospital for half a year.
Nevertheless, he had been in "a great place emotionally" during the summer, as he was developing a fresh record with Almond, called the upcoming Danceteria, which is set for release next year.
"He was focused and very pleased with the latest project that we literally completed only a short time ago," said the vocalist in a tribute.
"It's so sad as next year was completely planned to be such an uplifting year for him, and I find comfort from the knowledge that he listened to the finished record and believed that it was a great piece of work."
Tributes
Almond referred to his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", stating: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our body of work.
"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."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, also paid tribute, remembering Ball's "endless laughter" and "unwavering friendship".
"Forming a duo with someone is different from being in a band, the bond is incredibly close," he added.
"That was the case with us. We went through so many extraordinary, extraordinary, memorable experiences together. Thank you, Dave."
Formative Years
Brought into the world into a one-parent family in the city of Chester in the late 50s, Ball was given up for adoption when he was 18 months old.
He was raised in the seaside town with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his given name from Paul to David, together with his younger sister Susan, who was similarly welcomed.
He met Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both learning fine arts. Fuelled by a shared love of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the same year, and promptly recorded an EP.
Creative Collaboration
The duo were an distinctive combination: Ball was the quiet musician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all sparkle and makeup; but they attained a rare creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with electronic instruments after watching Kraftwerk appear on a television program a popular series, and began to marry moody electronic sounds to the catchy tunes Almond was composing.
Their signature song became the UK's second most popular single of the early 80s, selling 21 million units worldwide. Together with successful tracks by Gary Numan, Human League and electronic acts, it contributed to cleared the path for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The track was also featured on their first album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which produced two further high-charting hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the record up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at number two in 1982.
Career Highlights
Success had its benefits. "I loved being able to afford my first home, having money and exploring, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball not long ago told with a publication.
But it also caused problems. "Newfound wealth meant we could purchase substances to alleviate the boredom" of press appearances and TV performances, Ball said.
"I know that's a common saying, but it's a cliché for a good reason, because it applies for so many musicians."
Amidst the party-filled existence, the duo were also growing distant, but they managed to produce a second classic album - the wayward, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released another LP, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the group to concentrate on other projects.
Almond went on to have a prosperous solo career, featuring the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who combined acid house with melodic sounds over a enduring collaboration.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell reunited in 2001, producing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following another break, they reappeared in 2018, issuing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was intended to be a final performance at the large venue on 30 September, that year.
Yet, they remained active, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic restrictions.
Ball lately characterized the band's new album as a homage to the New York club scene they visited while making their initial records.
He added that his period in medical care had influenced the band's sound.
"I had unusual memories when I was coming and going of hospital because I was on morphine," he told a music magazine.
"The new songs are a digital reflection of the sounds in my head from those days.
"In parallel, it's about the times we got up to in the 80s."
The final mixes were finished only days before Ball died. It is scheduled for launch in Spring 2026.
