Dave Ball, one half of the groundbreaking 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Together with vocalist Marc Almond, the pair achieved a global success with their version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in 1984, and their debut album their initial full-length release is considered a classic of electronic music.
He later formed the pioneering techno group The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with their 1994 single Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully in his rest at his residence in London on October 22, only a short time after playing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in Henley-on-Thames.
Recent Health Challenges
During that show, Ball appeared in a mobility chair, as he had for the previous couple of years, following a spate of ill-health.
"I ended up injure myself quite a bit," he stated in 2023. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my back and cracked about five ribs and fractured my arm."
After contracting a lung infection and developing blood poisoning, he was put in an induced coma and remained in hospital for seven months.
Nevertheless, he had been in "a great place emotionally" during the warmer months, as he was developing a fresh record with Almond, called Danceteria, which is scheduled for release in the coming year.
"He was concentrated and so happy with the latest project that we actually finished only a short time ago," stated the vocalist in a tribute.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was completely planned to be such an uplifting time for him, and I find comfort from the knowledge that he heard the finished record and felt that it was a great piece of work."
Tributes
Almond described his bandmate as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", stating: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our legacy.
"Many thanks Dave for being an significant aspect of my existence and for the songs you gave me. I couldn't be where I am without you."
Richard Norris from The Grid, shared his condolences, recalling Ball's "endless laughter" and "unwavering friendship".
"Being in a duo with someone is distinct from being in a group, the bond is very tight," he continued.
"That was the case with us. We went through so many remarkable, incredible, memorable experiences together. Many thanks, Dave."
Early Life
Born into a single-parent household in the city of Chester in 1959, Ball was given up for adoption when he was 18 months of age.
He was raised in the seaside town with his new family 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 encountered Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both learning art. Fuelled by a mutual passion of Northern Soul, they formed Soft Cell the very year, and promptly recorded an extended play.
Creative Collaboration
The duo were an distinctive combination: Ball was the reserved musician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a charismatic showman, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they achieved a unique creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with synthesizers after watching Kraftwerk appear on BBC program Tomorrow's World, and started to combine dark electronica to the catchy tunes Almond was composing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second biggest-selling song of the early 80s, shifting millions of copies worldwide. Alongside hits by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it contributed to cleared the path for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.
The track was also included on their full-length debut, their initial LP, which produced two further high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the album up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at the second position in 1982.
Professional Journey
Success had its benefits. "I loved being able to afford my first home, having money and travelling, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball recently told with a publication.
But it also presented challenges. "Sudden riches meant we could afford newfound drugs to relieve the boredom" of press appearances and TV performances, Ball said.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a valid cause, because it works for so many musicians."
During the hedonistic lifestyle, the duo were also drifting apart, but they succeeded to create a second memorable record - the unconventional, edgy and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released another LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group to focus on individual endeavors.
Almond went on to have a prosperous individual path, featuring the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who combined dance music with ambient pop over a enduring collaboration.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, producing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following another break, they returned in recent years, releasing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was intended to be a final performance at the large venue on September 30, 2018.
However, they remained active, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.
Ball recently characterized the duo's upcoming release as a tribute to the NYC nightlife they visited while recording their initial records.
He noted that his time in hospital had shaped the band's sound.
"I experienced unusual memories when I was coming and going of the hospital because I was on pain medication," he told a music magazine.
"The new songs are a electronic representation of the sounds in my mind from those days.
"In parallel, it's about the experiences me and Marc got up to in the 1980s."
The final mixes were completed only a short time before Ball died. It is due for release in the spring of 2026.
