Dave Ball, a key member of the groundbreaking 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Together with singer Marc Almond, the team scored a global success with their cover of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in 1984, and their debut album their initial full-length release is considered a seminal work of electronic music.
He subsequently founded the innovative electronic act The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with 1994's Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully in his rest at his residence in London on Wednesday 22 October, just weeks after playing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in the Thames-side town.
Recent Health Challenges
At that show, Ball appeared in a wheelchair, as he had for the previous couple of years, after a spate of ill-health.
"I managed to injure myself significantly," he stated in 2023. "I broke lower vertebrae in my spine and fractured about multiple ribs and broke my arm."
Following catching pneumonia and developing blood poisoning, he was put in an induced coma and remained in hospital for half a year.
However, he had been in "high spirits mentally" over the summer, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is scheduled for release next year.
"He was concentrated and so happy with the latest project that we literally finished only a few days ago," said the singer in a heartfelt message.
"It's so sad as next year was all set to be such an uplifting year for him, and I take some solace from the fact that he heard the finished record and felt that it was a great piece of work."
Tributes
Almond referred to his bandmate as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", stating: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our body of work.
"Thank you Dave for being an immense part of my life and for the songs you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without you."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, also paid tribute, remembering Ball's "endless laughter" and "unwavering friendship".
"Being in a duo with someone is distinct from joining a group, the connection is incredibly close," he added.
"That was the case with us. We experienced so many extraordinary, incredible, memorable experiences together. Many thanks, Dave."
Formative Years
Brought into the world into a one-parent family 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 his caregivers, who changed his first name from his birth name to his adopted name, together with his sibling his sister, who was similarly welcomed.
He met Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both studying art. Fuelled by a mutual passion of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the very year, and quickly produced an extended play.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an unusual pairing: Ball was the reserved musician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a charismatic showman, all glitter and makeup; but they attained a unique creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with electronic instruments after watching Kraftwerk appear on BBC program Tomorrow's World, and began to marry moody electronic sounds to the catchy tunes Almond was composing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second most popular single of 1981, shifting millions of copies worldwide. Alongside successful tracks by Gary Numan, Human League and electronic acts, it helped paved the path for the synth-pop sound of the 80s.
The track was also included on their full-length debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which produced two further top five singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the album up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which reached at number two in 1982.
Career Highlights
Success had its benefits. "I loved being able to afford my initial property, 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 newfound drugs to alleviate the boredom" of media interviews and television shows, Ball said.
"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 party-filled existence, the duo were also growing distant, but they succeeded to create a follow-up memorable record - the wayward, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out another LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group to focus on other projects.
Almond proceeded to have a successful individual path, featuring the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who combined acid house with ambient pop over a enduring partnership.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, releasing 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 O2 Arena on September 30, that year.
Yet, they stayed active, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.
Ball lately characterized the band's new album as a tribute to the New York club scene they visited while making their initial records.
He noted that his time in hospital had influenced the group's music.
"I had unusual memories when I was in and out of the hospital because I was on morphine," he told a music magazine.
"Our latest tracks are a electronic representation of the noises in my head from that time.
"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences we got up to in the 1980s."
The final mixes were finished only a short time before Ball passed away. It is due for release in Spring 2026.
