Dave Ball, one half of the groundbreaking 1980s synth-pop band Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Together with singer Marc Almond, the duo scored a worldwide hit with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in 1984, and their first record their initial full-length release is considered a classic of electronic music.
He subsequently founded the pioneering techno group The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with their 1994 single the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball died peacefully in his rest at his residence in London on Wednesday 22 October, only a short time after performing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in Henley-on-Thames.
Recent Health Challenges
During that performance, Ball appeared in a wheelchair, as he had for the previous couple of years, after a spate of health issues.
"I ended up injure myself significantly," he commented in 2023. "I fractured spinal bones in my back and fractured about five ribs and fractured my wrist."
After catching 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 "a great place emotionally" over the summer, as he was developing a fresh record with Almond, called Danceteria, which is set for release next year.
"He was focused and very pleased with the latest project that we actually completed only a short time ago," said the vocalist in a heartfelt message.
"It's so sad as next year was all set to be such an positive year for him, and I find comfort from the knowledge that he listened to the finished record and believed that it was a masterpiece."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond described his bandmate as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", adding: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our body of work.
"Thank you Dave for being an immense part of my existence and for the music you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without you."
Richard Norris from The Grid, shared his condolences, remembering Ball's "constant humor" and "steadfast support".
"Forming a duo with someone is different from being in a group, the connection is very tight," he continued.
"That's how it was with us. We experienced so many remarkable, incredible, memorable moments as a team. Thank you, Dave."
Formative Years
Born into a single-parent household in Chester in the late 50s, Ball was put up for adoption when he was a year and a half of age.
He was raised in Blackpool with his new family his caregivers, who altered his given name from his birth name to his adopted name, alongside his younger sister Susan, who was similarly welcomed.
He encountered Almond at an art college in the late 70s, where they were both studying fine arts. Fuelled by a shared love of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the very year, and promptly produced an EP.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an distinctive combination: Ball was the reserved musician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic showman, all glitter and eye-liner; but they achieved a unique creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with synthesizers after watching the band Kraftwerk perform on BBC science show Tomorrow's World, and began to marry dark electronica 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 successful tracks by Gary Numan, Human League and electronic acts, it helped paved the way for the electronic music style of the 80s.
The song was also included on their full-length debut, their initial LP, which produced two additional high-charting hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the record up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at number two in the following year.
Career Highlights
Success had its benefits. "I enjoyed being able to afford my first home, having money and travelling, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball not long ago told with a music magazine.
But it also caused challenges. "Newfound wealth meant we could afford substances to alleviate the monotony" of press appearances and TV performances, Ball explained.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a valid cause, because it works for so many bands."
Amidst the party-filled existence, the pair were also drifting apart, but they succeeded to create a second classic album - the wayward, edgy and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out one more LP, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the group to concentrate on individual endeavors.
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 acid house with melodic sounds over a enduring partnership.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell reunited in 2001, producing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following a further break, they returned in 2018, issuing 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 September 30, 2018.
Yet, they remained together, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.
Ball lately characterized the band's upcoming release as a homage to the NYC nightlife they visited while making their initial records.
He added that his period in hospital had shaped the band's sound.
"I had strange recollections when I was coming and going of hospital because I was on pain medication," he explained to a music magazine.
"Our latest tracks are a electronic representation of the sounds in my mind from that time.
"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences me and Marc got up to in the 80s."
The last versions were finished only days before Ball died. It is scheduled for release in Spring 2026.
