Dave Ball, a key member of the innovative 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Alongside vocalist Marc Almond, the pair scored a worldwide hit with their version of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in 1984, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a classic of electronic music.
He later founded the innovative electronic act The Grid, who achieved chart success with their 1994 single Swamp Thing.
Ball died calmly in his sleep 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 Henley-on-Thames.
Health Struggles
During that performance, Ball appeared in a mobility chair, as he had for the last two years, after a spate of ill-health.
"I ended up injure myself quite a bit," he commented in 2023. "I broke spinal bones in my back and cracked about multiple ribs and fractured my arm."
After contracting pneumonia and suffering from sepsis, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and remained in hospital for half a year.
However, he had been in "high spirits mentally" during the warmer months, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, titled the upcoming Danceteria, which is set for release in the coming year.
"He was concentrated and very pleased with the latest project that we actually finished only a few days ago," said the singer in a tribute.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was all set to be such an positive time for him, and I take some solace from the knowledge that he heard the finished record and believed that it was a great piece of work."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond referred to his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", adding: "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 significant 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, remembering Ball's "constant humor" and "unwavering friendship".
"Forming a duo with someone is different from being in a group, the connection is very tight," he added.
"That's how it was with us. We went through so many extraordinary, extraordinary, life-affirming experiences as a team. Thank you, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a single-parent household in the city of Chester in the late 50s, Ball was put up for adoption when he was 18 months of age.
He grew up in Blackpool with adoptive parents his caregivers, who altered his first name from Paul to David, alongside his younger sister his sister, who was also adopted.
He encountered Almond at an art college in the late 70s, where they were both studying art. Fuelled by a mutual passion of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the very year, and promptly recorded an extended play.
Creative Collaboration
The duo were an unusual combination: Ball was the reserved musician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all glitter and makeup; but they achieved a rare musical alchemy.
Ball had developed a interest with electronic instruments after watching the band Kraftwerk perform on a television science show a popular series, and began to marry dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.
Their signature song became the UK's second most popular single of the early 80s, selling millions of copies worldwide. Together with successful tracks by other artists, Human League and electronic acts, it contributed to paved the path for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The song was also included on their first album, their initial LP, which produced two additional high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the record up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at number two in 1982.
Professional Journey
Fame had its benefits. "I loved being able to afford my first home, having financial security and travelling, which makes me sound like a Miss World," Ball not long ago shared with a music magazine.
But it also caused challenges. "Sudden riches allowed we could purchase newfound drugs to relieve the monotony" of press appearances and television shows, Ball said.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a good reason, because it works for so many bands."
Amidst the hedonistic lifestyle, the pair were also growing distant, but they succeeded to produce a follow-up memorable record - the wayward, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released one more LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the group to focus on individual endeavors.
Almond proceeded to have a prosperous 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 ambient pop over a enduring partnership.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, releasing the charting album Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following another break, they reappeared in recent years, releasing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was supposed to be a final performance at the large venue on September 30, that year.
Yet, they stayed active, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.
Ball lately characterized the band's new album as a homage to the New York club scene they visited while making their first two albums.
He noted that his time in medical care had shaped the band's sound.
"I experienced strange recollections when I was coming and going of the hospital because I was on pain medication," he told a publication.
"The new songs are a electronic representation of the sounds in my mind from that time.
"In parallel, it's about the experiences we had in the 80s."
The last versions were completed only a short time before Ball passed away. It is due for launch in Spring 2026.
