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 duo scored a global success with their version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in 1984, and their debut album their initial full-length release is regarded as a seminal work of synth-pop.
He subsequently formed the innovative techno group The Grid, who secured chart success with their 1994 single Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully in his rest at his home in London on Wednesday 22 October, only a short time after performing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in the Thames-side town.
Health Struggles
During that performance, Ball performed in a mobility chair, as he had for the previous couple of years, following a spate of health issues.
"I ended up injure myself significantly," he commented in a recent interview. "I fractured spinal bones in my spine and cracked about multiple ribs and fractured my arm."
Following contracting pneumonia and suffering from blood poisoning, he was placed in an medically-induced sleep and stayed in the hospital for seven months.
Nevertheless, he had been in "high spirits mentally" over the warmer months, as he worked on a new album with Almond, called Danceteria, which is set for release in the coming year.
"He was focused and so happy with the latest project that we actually completed only a short time ago," said the singer in a tribute.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was all set to be such an uplifting year for him, and I find comfort from the fact 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", stating: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our legacy.
"Thank you Dave for being an significant aspect of my existence and for the songs you gave me. I wouldn't be where I am without you."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, shared his condolences, recalling Ball's "constant humor" and "steadfast support".
"Forming a duo with someone is different from joining a band, the connection is incredibly close," he continued.
"That's how it was with us. We went through so many remarkable, incredible, life-affirming moments together. Thank you, Dave."
Formative Years
Brought into the world into a one-parent family in the city of Chester in 1959, Ball was given up for adoption when he was a year and a half of age.
He grew up in the seaside town with adoptive parents his caregivers, who changed his given name from his birth name to his adopted name, alongside his sibling his sister, who was similarly welcomed.
He encountered Almond at an art college in the late 70s, where they were both learning fine arts. Fuelled by a shared love of Northern Soul, they established Soft Cell the same year, and quickly produced an extended play.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an unusual pairing: Ball was the reserved technician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all glitter and eye-liner; but they achieved a rare musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with electronic instruments after watching the band Kraftwerk perform on BBC program a popular series, and started to combine dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second biggest-selling single of the early 80s, selling 21 million units worldwide. Alongside successful tracks by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it contributed to paved the path for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The song was also included on their full-length debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which spawned two further top five hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the album up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which peaked at the second position in the following year.
Career Highlights
Success had its upsides. "I enjoyed being able to purchase my first home, having financial security and exploring, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball not long ago shared with a publication.
But it also caused problems. "Sudden riches allowed we could afford newfound drugs to relieve the boredom" of press appearances and TV performances, Ball said.
"I know that's a common saying, but it's a truism for a valid cause, because it works for so many bands."
Amidst the party-filled existence, the duo were also drifting apart, but they managed to produce a follow-up memorable record - the unconventional, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out one more LP, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group to concentrate on other projects.
Almond went on to have a prosperous individual path, including the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who mixed dance music with melodic sounds over a long-lasting collaboration.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell came back together in 2001, releasing the charting album Cruelty Without Beauty.
After a further break, they returned in recent years, issuing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was supposed to be a final performance at the O2 Arena on 30 September, 2018.
However, they remained active, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.
Ball lately described the duo's upcoming release as a tribute to the NYC nightlife they visited while recording their first two albums.
He noted that his period in hospital had influenced the group's music.
"I had strange recollections when I was in and out of hospital because I was on pain medication," he told a publication.
"Our latest tracks 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 80s."
The final mixes were finished only a short time before Ball died. It is due for release in the spring of 2026.
