Dave Ball, a key member of the pioneering 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Together with singer Marc Almond, the team achieved a worldwide hit with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a seminal work of synth-pop.
He subsequently formed the pioneering techno group The Grid, who achieved popular acclaim with 1994's Swamp Thing.
Ball died peacefully in his rest at his residence in London on October 22, only a short time after performing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in the Thames-side town.
Health Struggles
At that show, Ball appeared in a wheelchair, as he had for the last two years, after a period of ill-health.
"I managed to injure myself quite a bit," he commented in 2023. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my spine and fractured about five ribs and broke my arm."
Following contracting a lung infection and developing blood poisoning, he was placed in an medically-induced sleep and stayed in hospital for seven months.
However, he had been in "high spirits mentally" during the summer, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication in the coming year.
"He was focused and so happy with the latest project that we actually completed only a short time ago," said the singer 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 knowledge that he heard the finished record and felt that it was a masterpiece."
Tributes
Almond described his bandmate as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", adding: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our legacy.
"Thank you Dave for being an immense part of my life and for the songs you created with me. I wouldn't be where I am without you."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, also paid tribute, remembering Ball's "constant humor" and "unwavering friendship".
"Being in a duo with someone is different from being in a band, the bond is very tight," he continued.
"That was the case with us. We experienced so many extraordinary, extraordinary, memorable experiences as a team. Many thanks, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a single-parent household in the city of Chester in the late 50s, Ball was given up for adoption when he was a year and a half of age.
He was raised in the seaside town with adoptive parents his caregivers, who changed his first name from Paul to his adopted name, together with his sibling Susan, who was also adopted.
He met Almond at an art college in the late 70s, where they were both learning fine arts. Fuelled by a shared love of Northern Soul, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and promptly recorded an EP.
Creative Collaboration
The pair were an unusual pairing: Ball was the reserved technician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a charismatic showman, all glitter and makeup; but they attained a rare musical alchemy.
Ball had developed a interest with synthesizers after watching Kraftwerk appear on a television program a popular series, and started to marry moody electronic sounds to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second biggest-selling single of 1981, shifting millions of units worldwide. Together with successful tracks by other artists, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it helped cleared the way for the electronic music style 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 continued the album up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which reached at the second position in the following year.
Professional Journey
Success had its benefits. "I enjoyed being able to purchase my first home, having financial security and exploring, which makes me sound like a Miss World," Ball not long ago told with a music magazine.
But it also presented problems. "Sudden riches allowed we could purchase substances to relieve the boredom" of media interviews and television shows, Ball said.
"I realize that's a common saying, but it's a truism for a valid cause, because it applies for so many bands."
During the party-filled existence, the pair were also drifting apart, but they managed to produce a follow-up classic album - the unconventional, edgy and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out one more album, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the group to focus on individual endeavors.
Almond proceeded to have a successful individual path, including the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who mixed acid house with ambient pop over a enduring collaboration.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell came back together in the early 2000s, releasing the Top 40 album Cruelty Without Beauty.
After another hiatus, they reappeared in recent years, releasing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was supposed to be a farewell show at the large venue on 30 September, that year.
However, they stayed together, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.
Ball lately characterized the duo's new album as a homage to the NYC nightlife they visited while making their first two albums.
He noted that his period in medical care had shaped the band's sound.
"I experienced unusual memories when I was in and out of hospital because I was on pain medication," he told a publication.
"Our latest tracks are a electronic representation of the noises in my head from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the times me and Marc got up to in the 1980s."
The last versions were completed only a short time before Ball died. It is due for release in the spring of 2026.
