Dave Ball, one half of the innovative 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the team scored a worldwide hit with their version of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record their initial full-length release is regarded as a seminal work of electronic music.
He later founded the innovative electronic act The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with their 1994 single the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball died peacefully in his sleep at his residence in London on October 22, just weeks after playing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in Henley-on-Thames.
Health Struggles
At that performance, Ball appeared in a mobility chair, as he had for the last two years, following 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 multiple ribs and broke my arm."
Following catching pneumonia and suffering from sepsis, he was placed in an induced coma and stayed in the hospital for half a year.
Nevertheless, he had been in "high spirits emotionally" during the summer, as he was developing a new album with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is set for release in the coming year.
"He was focused and so happy with the latest project that we literally completed only a short time ago," said the vocalist in a tribute.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was all set to be such an uplifting year for him, and I take some solace from the knowledge that he listened to the completed album and felt that it was a masterpiece."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond described his bandmate as "a wonderfully brilliant musical genius", 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 aspect of my life and for the songs you gave me. I wouldn't be where I am without your influence."
His Grid bandmate 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 incredibly close," he added.
"That's how it was with us. We experienced so many extraordinary, incredible, memorable experiences as a team. Many thanks, Dave."
Early Life
Born into a one-parent family in the city of Chester in 1959, Ball was given up for adoption when he was a year and a half of age.
He grew up in Blackpool with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who altered his given name from Paul to his adopted name, together with his sibling Susan, who was also adopted.
He met Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in the late 70s, where they were both learning fine arts. Fuelled by a mutual passion of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the same year, and promptly recorded an extended play.
Creative Collaboration
The pair were an unusual combination: Ball was the quiet musician, hunched over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all glitter and eye-liner; but they achieved a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had developed a interest with electronic instruments after watching the band Kraftwerk perform on BBC program a popular series, and began to marry moody electronic sounds to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.
Their signature song became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling song of the early 80s, selling millions of copies worldwide. Alongside hits by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it contributed to cleared the way for the synth-pop sound of the 80s.
The track was also featured on their full-length debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which spawned two further high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the record up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which peaked at the second position in the following year.
Career Highlights
Success had its upsides. "I loved being able to afford my initial property, having financial security and exploring, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball not long ago told with a publication.
But it also presented problems. "Newfound wealth meant we could purchase substances to alleviate the boredom" of media interviews and television shows, Ball said.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a good reason, because it applies for so many musicians."
During the hedonistic lifestyle, the duo were also drifting apart, but they succeeded to produce a second classic album - the wayward, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out another album, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band to focus on other projects.
Almond went on to have a successful individual path, including the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who mixed acid house with melodic sounds over a enduring collaboration.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell came back together in 2001, releasing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following another break, they reappeared in 2018, releasing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was intended to be a farewell show at the O2 Arena on September 30, 2018.
Yet, they remained together, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.
Ball lately described the duo's new album as a homage to the New York club scene they visited while making their initial records.
He added that his time in hospital had influenced the band's sound.
"I experienced strange recollections when I was coming and going of the hospital because I was on pain medication," he told a publication.
"Our latest tracks are a digital reflection of the noises in my mind from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the times we had in the 1980s."
The final mixes were finished only days before Ball died. It is scheduled for release in Spring 2026.
