Dave Ball, one half of the groundbreaking 1980s synth-pop band Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the duo scored a global success with their cover of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in 1984, and their first record their initial full-length release is regarded as a seminal work of electronic music.
He later formed the innovative electronic act The Grid, who achieved popular acclaim with their 1994 single Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully in his sleep at his home in London on Wednesday 22 October, just weeks after performing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in Henley-on-Thames.
Health Struggles
At that show, Ball appeared in a mobility chair, as he had for the previous couple of years, after a spate of ill-health.
"I ended up injure myself significantly," he stated in a recent interview. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my back and cracked about five ribs and fractured my wrist."
After catching a lung infection and developing sepsis, he was put in an induced coma and remained in the hospital for half a year.
However, he had been in "high spirits mentally" over the summer, as he worked on a new album with Almond, titled the upcoming Danceteria, which is set for release next year.
"He was focused and very pleased with the new album that we literally finished only a few days ago," said the vocalist in a heartfelt message.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was all set to be such an uplifting time for him, and I take some solace from the fact that he heard the finished record and believed that it was a masterpiece."
Tributes
Almond referred to his bandmate as "an exceptionally talented creative mastermind", stating: "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 life and for the songs you gave me. I wouldn't be where I am without your influence."
Richard Norris from The Grid, shared his condolences, remembering Ball's "constant humor" and "unwavering friendship".
"Forming a duo with someone is different from joining a group, the connection is incredibly close," he added.
"That's how it was with us. We went through so many extraordinary, extraordinary, life-affirming experiences together. Thank you, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a one-parent family in the city of Chester in the late 50s, Ball was given up for adoption when he was 18 months of age.
He was raised in the seaside town with adoptive parents his caregivers, who altered his given name from his birth name to David, together with his sibling Susan, who was also adopted.
He met Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both studying art. Fuelled by a shared love of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the very year, and quickly produced an extended play.
Creative Collaboration
The pair were an unusual combination: Ball was the quiet musician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all glitter and eye-liner; but they achieved a rare musical alchemy.
Ball had developed a fascination with electronic instruments after watching the band Kraftwerk perform on BBC science show Tomorrow's World, and started to marry dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second most popular song of 1981, selling 21 million copies worldwide. Together with successful tracks by other artists, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it helped paved the way for the synth-pop sound of the 80s.
The track was also featured on their first album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which spawned two further high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the record up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at the second position in 1982.
Career Highlights
Success had its benefits. "I loved being able to afford my first home, having money and exploring, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball not long ago shared with a publication.
But it also caused problems. "Sudden riches allowed we could afford newfound drugs to alleviate the monotony" of media interviews and television shows, Ball said.
"I know that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a good reason, because it works for so many bands."
During the party-filled existence, the duo were also growing distant, but they succeeded to produce a follow-up memorable record - the unconventional, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out one more album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group to concentrate on other projects.
Almond proceeded to have a prosperous solo career, including the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who combined acid house with ambient pop over a long-lasting collaboration.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell came back together in the early 2000s, producing the charting record Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following another hiatus, 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 final performance at the O2 Arena on September 30, that year.
However, they remained together, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.
Ball lately described the band's new album as a tribute to the NYC nightlife they visited while recording their first two albums.
He added that his time in hospital had influenced the band's sound.
"I experienced strange recollections when I was in and out of the hospital because I was on pain medication," he told a publication.
"The new songs are a digital reflection of the sounds in my mind from those days.
"In parallel, it's about the times we got up to in the 1980s."
The final mixes were finished only days before Ball died. It is scheduled for launch in the spring of 2026.
