Dave Ball, a key member of the innovative 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Together with singer Marc Almond, the team scored a worldwide hit with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their debut album their initial full-length release is considered a classic of electronic music.
He subsequently formed the pioneering techno group The Grid, who achieved chart success with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his sleep at his home in London on October 22, just weeks after performing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in the Thames-side town.
Recent Health Challenges
At that performance, Ball appeared in a mobility chair, as he had for the last two years, after a period of ill-health.
"I ended up damage myself quite a bit," he stated in a recent interview. "I broke lower vertebrae in my back and fractured about multiple ribs and fractured my wrist."
After contracting a lung infection and developing sepsis, he was placed in an induced coma and remained in hospital for half a year.
Nevertheless, he had been in "a great place mentally" over the warmer months, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, titled the upcoming Danceteria, which is set for publication next year.
"He was focused and very pleased with the latest project that we actually finished only a few days ago," stated the singer in a heartfelt message.
"It's so sad as next year was all set to be such an positive year for him, and I take some solace from the fact that he heard the finished record and believed that it was a great piece of work."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond referred to his collaborator as "an exceptionally talented creative mastermind", stating: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our legacy.
"Thank you Dave for being an significant aspect of my life and for the songs you gave 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 partnership with someone is different from joining a group, the bond is very tight," he added.
"That was the case with us. We went through so many remarkable, incredible, life-affirming moments as a team. Thank you, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a one-parent family in Chester in the late 50s, Ball was given up for adoption when he was 18 months of age.
He was raised in Blackpool with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his given name from his birth name to his adopted name, together with his younger sister Susan, who was also adopted.
He met Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both learning art. Inspired by a mutual passion of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the same year, and quickly produced an extended play.
Musical Partnership
The duo were an unusual combination: Ball was the reserved musician, hunched over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant showman, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they achieved a rare creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with electronic instruments 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 United Kingdom's second most popular single of the early 80s, selling 21 million copies globally. Alongside hits by Gary Numan, Human League and electronic acts, it contributed to cleared the way for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The track was also featured on their first album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which produced two additional top five hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the album up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which peaked at number two in 1982.
Career Highlights
Fame had its upsides. "I loved being able to purchase my first home, having money and exploring, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball not long ago shared with a music magazine.
But it also caused problems. "Newfound wealth meant we could afford substances to relieve the monotony" of media interviews and TV performances, Ball explained.
"I realize that's a common saying, but it's a cliché for a valid cause, because it applies for so many musicians."
During the hedonistic lifestyle, the duo were also drifting apart, but they managed to create a second classic album - the wayward, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released one more album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the group to concentrate on individual endeavors.
Almond proceeded to have a prosperous individual path, featuring the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who combined dance music with ambient pop over a enduring partnership.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell reunited in 2001, producing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.
After another break, they returned in recent years, 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, that year.
However, they stayed together, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic restrictions.
Ball lately described the band's upcoming release as a homage to the NYC nightlife they frequented while recording their initial records.
He added that his time in medical care 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 publication.
"The new songs are a digital reflection of the sounds in my mind from those days.
"In parallel, it's about the times me and Marc got up to in the 80s."
The last versions were finished only a short time before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for launch in Spring 2026.
