Dave Ball, one half of the innovative 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the pair scored a global success with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in 1984, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a seminal work of synth-pop.
He later formed the pioneering electronic act The Grid, who achieved popular acclaim with their 1994 single Swamp Thing.
Ball died calmly in his rest at his home in London on October 22, only a short time after performing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in Henley-on-Thames.
Recent Health Challenges
At that performance, Ball performed in a mobility chair, as he had for the previous couple of years, after a period of health issues.
"I managed to damage myself quite a bit," he stated in a recent interview. "I broke lower vertebrae in my spine and cracked about five ribs and broke my wrist."
Following contracting pneumonia and suffering from blood poisoning, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and stayed in hospital for seven months.
Nevertheless, he had been in "a great place emotionally" over the summer, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, titled the upcoming Danceteria, which is scheduled for release next year.
"He was concentrated and so happy with the new album that we literally completed only a short time ago," said the singer in a heartfelt message.
"It's so sad as next year was all set to be such an uplifting time for him, and I take some solace from the fact that he listened to the finished record and felt that it was a masterpiece."
Tributes
Almond described his bandmate as "a wonderfully brilliant musical genius", 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 immense aspect of my existence and for the songs you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without you."
Richard Norris from The Grid, also paid tribute, recalling Ball's "constant humor" and "steadfast support".
"Forming a partnership with someone is distinct from joining a group, the connection is incredibly close," he added.
"That's how it was with us. We went through so many extraordinary, extraordinary, life-affirming moments together. Many thanks, 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 adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his given name from Paul to his adopted name, together with his sibling Susan, who was also adopted.
He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both learning fine arts. Inspired by a mutual passion of Northern Soul, they formed Soft Cell the very year, and quickly recorded an EP.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an unusual combination: Ball was the reserved technician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they attained a rare musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with electronic instruments after viewing the band Kraftwerk appear on BBC science show Tomorrow's World, and started to combine moody electronic sounds to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling song of the early 80s, shifting millions of units globally. Together with hits by other artists, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it contributed to cleared the way for the electronic music style of the 80s.
The track was also included on their full-length debut, their initial LP, which produced two further high-charting hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the record up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which peaked at number two in 1982.
Career Highlights
Success had its upsides. "I enjoyed being able to afford my initial property, having financial security and travelling, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball not long ago told with a publication.
But it also presented challenges. "Newfound wealth meant we could purchase newfound drugs to relieve the monotony" of press appearances and television shows, 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 growing distant, but they managed to produce a follow-up memorable record - the wayward, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released one more LP, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group to concentrate on other projects.
Almond proceeded to have a prosperous individual path, 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 long-lasting partnership.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell came back together in 2001, releasing the charting album Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following a further hiatus, they returned 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 large venue on September 30, that year.
Yet, they stayed active, recording their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.
Ball recently characterized the band's upcoming release as a tribute to the New York club scene they visited while recording their first two albums.
He added that his period in hospital had shaped the group's music.
"I experienced strange recollections when I was in and out of hospital because I was on morphine," he told a publication.
"The new songs are a electronic representation of the sounds in my mind from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the times we got up to in the 1980s."
The final mixes were finished only days before Ball died. It is due for launch in Spring 2026.
