Dave Ball, one half of the innovative 1980s synth-pop band Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Together with singer Marc Almond, the pair achieved a worldwide hit with their version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record their initial full-length release is considered a seminal work of electronic music.
He subsequently formed the pioneering techno group The Grid, who achieved popular acclaim with 1994's Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully in his rest at his home in London on October 22, just weeks after playing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in Henley-on-Thames.
Recent Health Challenges
At that show, Ball appeared in a mobility chair, as he had for the last two years, after a spate of ill-health.
"I managed to damage myself quite a bit," he stated in 2023. "I broke lower vertebrae in my back and cracked about five ribs and fractured my wrist."
After catching pneumonia and developing sepsis, he was put in an induced coma and stayed in hospital for half a year.
Nevertheless, he had been in "a great place emotionally" during the summer, as he worked on a new album with Almond, called Danceteria, which is set for release next year.
"He was concentrated and so happy with the latest project that we literally finished only a short time ago," stated the vocalist in a tribute.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was all set to be such an uplifting time for him, and I find comfort from the knowledge that he heard the completed album and felt that it was a great piece of work."
Tributes
Almond described his collaborator as "an exceptionally talented musical genius", adding: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our body of work.
"Many thanks Dave for being an significant part of my existence and for the songs you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without you."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, shared his condolences, remembering Ball's "endless laughter" and "steadfast support".
"Being in a partnership with someone is different from joining a band, the bond is incredibly close," he added.
"That was the case with us. We went through so many remarkable, incredible, life-affirming experiences together. Thank you, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a single-parent household in Chester in 1959, Ball was put up for adoption when he was a year and a half of age.
He was raised in the seaside town with his new family Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his first name from his birth name to his adopted name, alongside his sibling 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 promptly produced an extended play.
Creative Collaboration
The duo were an unusual pairing: Ball was the reserved technician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all glitter and makeup; but they attained a rare creative synergy.
Ball had developed a interest with electronic instruments after watching Kraftwerk appear on a television science show Tomorrow's World, and started to combine dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.
Their signature song became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling single of the early 80s, shifting 21 million units globally. Alongside successful tracks by other artists, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it helped paved the way for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.
The song was also featured on their full-length debut, their initial LP, which produced two additional high-charting hits: 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
Fame had its benefits. "I loved being able to purchase my initial property, having financial security and travelling, which makes me sound like a Miss World," Ball recently shared with a music magazine.
But it also presented challenges. "Newfound wealth meant we could purchase substances to relieve the boredom" of press appearances and TV performances, Ball said.
"I know that's a common saying, but it's a cliché for a good reason, because it applies for so many musicians."
Amidst the party-filled existence, the pair were also drifting apart, but they succeeded to produce a second memorable record - the unconventional, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released another album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the band to focus on individual endeavors.
Almond proceeded to have a successful solo career, featuring the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who combined dance music with melodic sounds over a enduring collaboration.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell came back together in 2001, releasing the charting record Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following another break, they returned in 2018, issuing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was intended to be a final performance at the O2 Arena on September 30, 2018.
However, they stayed together, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic restrictions.
Ball lately characterized the duo's new album as a tribute to the NYC nightlife they frequented while making their first two albums.
He noted that his period in medical care had shaped the band's sound.
"I had unusual memories when I was in and out of hospital because I was on morphine," he told a publication.
"The new songs are a digital reflection of the noises in my head from that time.
"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences me and Marc had in the 80s."
The final mixes were completed only a short time before Ball passed away. It is due for release in the spring of 2026.
