Dave Ball, a key member of the pioneering 1980s synth-pop duo Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Together with vocalist Marc Almond, the team scored a worldwide hit with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in 1984, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a seminal work of synth-pop.
He subsequently founded the innovative electronic act The Grid, who achieved popular acclaim with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball died calmly in his rest at his residence in London on October 22, only a short time after performing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in Henley-on-Thames.
Health Struggles
During that performance, Ball appeared in a mobility chair, as he had for the last two years, following a spate of health issues.
"I managed to damage myself quite a bit," he commented in a recent interview. "I broke lower vertebrae in my spine and cracked about five ribs and broke my arm."
After catching a lung infection and developing blood poisoning, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and remained in the hospital for seven months.
However, he had been in "high spirits mentally" during the summer, as he was developing a new album with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is set for publication in the coming year.
"He was focused and very pleased with the latest project that we literally completed only a short time ago," stated the vocalist in a tribute.
"It's so sad as next year was completely planned to be such an positive year for him, and I find comfort from the knowledge that he heard the completed album and felt that it was a masterpiece."
Tributes
Almond referred to his bandmate as "a wonderfully brilliant musical genius", adding: "He was the core essence 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."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, shared his condolences, remembering Ball's "constant humor" and "unwavering friendship".
"Being in a duo with someone is distinct from joining a group, the bond is incredibly close," he continued.
"That was the case with us. We experienced so many extraordinary, extraordinary, life-affirming experiences as a team. Thank you, Dave."
Early Life
Born 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 old.
He was raised in the seaside town with his new family his caregivers, who altered his first name from his birth name to his adopted name, alongside his sibling his sister, who was also adopted.
He met Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both learning fine arts. Fuelled by a mutual passion of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the very year, and quickly recorded an extended play.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an distinctive combination: Ball was the reserved technician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all glitter and makeup; but they attained a rare creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with synthesizers after watching Kraftwerk perform on a television program Tomorrow's World, and began to combine dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.
Their signature song became the UK's second most popular single of 1981, selling 21 million units worldwide. Together with successful tracks by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it contributed to cleared the path for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The track was also included on their full-length debut, their initial LP, which spawned two further high-charting hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the album up with the separate release, Torch, which peaked at the second position in the following year.
Professional Journey
Fame had its upsides. "I enjoyed being able to purchase my initial property, having financial security and exploring, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball not long ago shared with a publication.
But it also presented problems. "Newfound wealth allowed we could afford substances to relieve the monotony" of media interviews and television shows, Ball explained.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a valid cause, because it works for so many musicians."
During the party-filled existence, the pair were also growing distant, but they succeeded to produce a follow-up classic album - the unconventional, edgy and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out another album, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group to focus on individual endeavors.
Almond went on to have a successful individual path, including the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who combined acid house with melodic sounds over a long-lasting collaboration.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell came back together in 2001, producing the charting record Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following a further break, they returned in recent years, releasing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was intended to be a farewell show at the large venue on 30 September, 2018.
However, they stayed together, recording their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic restrictions.
Ball recently characterized the duo's upcoming release as a tribute to the New York club scene they frequented while making their initial records.
He added that his time in hospital had influenced the group's music.
"I experienced unusual memories when I was coming and going of the hospital because I was on morphine," he told a music magazine.
"Our latest tracks are a digital reflection of the noises in my head from that time.
"In parallel, it's about the times me and Marc got up to in the 1980s."
The last versions were completed only a short time before Ball died. It is scheduled for release in Spring 2026.
