Dave Ball, a key member of the innovative 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Together with singer Marc Almond, the team scored a worldwide hit with their version of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in 1984, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a classic of synth-pop.
He later founded the innovative electronic act The Grid, who achieved popular acclaim with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball died calmly in his sleep at his residence in London on October 22, only a short time after performing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in the Thames-side town.
Recent Health Challenges
During that show, Ball appeared in a mobility chair, as he had for the last two years, after a period of ill-health.
"I ended up damage myself significantly," he stated in 2023. "I fractured spinal bones in my back and fractured about multiple ribs and fractured my arm."
Following contracting pneumonia and suffering from sepsis, he was placed in an induced coma and remained in the hospital for seven months.
Nevertheless, he had been in "high spirits mentally" over the warmer months, as he was developing a new album with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is scheduled for release in the coming year.
"He was focused and so happy with the latest project that we literally finished only a short time ago," said the vocalist in a tribute.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was all set to be such an positive time for him, and I find comfort from the fact that he heard the finished record and felt that it was a masterpiece."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond referred to his bandmate as "an exceptionally talented creative mastermind", stating: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our legacy.
"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 your influence."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, shared his condolences, recalling Ball's "endless laughter" and "unwavering friendship".
"Forming a duo with someone is different from being in a group, the connection is very tight," he continued.
"That was the case with us. We experienced so many remarkable, extraordinary, life-affirming moments together. Thank you, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a one-parent family in Chester in 1959, Ball was given up for adoption when he was 18 months of age.
He was raised in the seaside town with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his given name from Paul to David, together with his younger sister his sister, who was similarly welcomed.
He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in the late 70s, where they were both learning art. Inspired by a mutual passion of Northern Soul, they formed Soft Cell the very year, and quickly produced an EP.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an distinctive pairing: Ball was the quiet musician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all sparkle and makeup; but they achieved a rare creative synergy.
Ball had developed a fascination with electronic instruments after watching the band Kraftwerk appear on a television program a popular series, and started to marry dark electronica to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.
Their signature song became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling song of 1981, selling millions of copies worldwide. Together with hits by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it contributed to cleared the way for the electronic music style of the 80s.
The track was also featured on their full-length debut, their initial LP, which produced two further high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the album up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which reached at number two in the following year.
Career Highlights
Success had its benefits. "I loved being able to purchase my first home, having financial security and travelling, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball recently told with a publication.
But it also presented problems. "Newfound wealth allowed we could afford newfound drugs to relieve the boredom" of media interviews and TV performances, Ball explained.
"I know that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a good reason, because it works for so many bands."
Amidst the party-filled existence, the pair were also growing distant, but they succeeded to create a follow-up classic album - the unconventional, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out another album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the band to focus on individual endeavors.
Almond went on to have a successful individual path, featuring the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who mixed dance music with ambient pop over a long-lasting partnership.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell came back together in 2001, producing the Top 40 album Cruelty Without Beauty.
After a further hiatus, they returned in recent years, issuing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was supposed to be a farewell show at the large venue on 30 September, that year.
However, they remained together, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.
Ball recently described the duo's new album as a tribute to the New York club scene they visited while recording their first two albums.
He noted that his period in hospital had shaped the group's music.
"I had strange recollections when I was coming and going of the hospital because I was on morphine," he explained to a music magazine.
"The new songs are a digital reflection of the sounds in my mind from those days.
"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 launch in the spring of 2026.
