Dave Ball, a key member of the pioneering 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the pair scored a worldwide hit with their version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in 1984, and their debut album their initial full-length release is regarded as a classic of electronic music.
He later founded the innovative techno group The Grid, who achieved popular acclaim with their 1994 single Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his rest at his residence in London on October 22, just weeks after playing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in the Thames-side town.
Health Struggles
At that performance, Ball appeared in a mobility chair, as he had for the previous couple of years, following a period of ill-health.
"I ended up damage myself quite a bit," he commented in 2023. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my back and fractured about five ribs and broke my arm."
After contracting pneumonia and suffering from blood poisoning, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and stayed in hospital for seven months.
However, he had been in "a great place emotionally" during the summer, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, titled the upcoming Danceteria, which is scheduled for release next year.
"He was concentrated and so happy with the latest project that we literally completed only a few days ago," said the vocalist in a tribute.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was all set to be such an positive year for him, and I find comfort from the fact that he listened to the completed album and felt that it was a masterpiece."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond referred to his bandmate as "an exceptionally talented musical genius", adding: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our body of work.
"Many thanks Dave for being an significant part of my life and for the music you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without you."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, shared his condolences, recalling Ball's "constant humor" and "steadfast support".
"Being in a duo with someone is different from joining 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. Many thanks, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a single-parent household in Chester in the late 50s, Ball was given up for adoption when he was 18 months of age.
He grew up in the seaside town with his new family his caregivers, who altered his given name from Paul to his adopted name, alongside his younger sister Susan, who was similarly welcomed.
He met Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both learning art. Fuelled by a shared love of Northern Soul, they formed Soft Cell the very year, and quickly produced an extended play.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an distinctive pairing: Ball was the quiet technician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they attained a unique creative synergy.
Ball had developed a fascination with electronic instruments after viewing Kraftwerk appear on BBC program Tomorrow's World, and started to combine dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second most popular song of the early 80s, shifting 21 million copies globally. Together with hits by Gary Numan, Human League and electronic acts, it helped cleared the way for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.
The track was also included on their first album, their initial LP, which produced two further top five singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the album up with the separate release, Torch, which peaked at the second position in 1982.
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 shared with a publication.
But it also presented challenges. "Newfound wealth allowed we could afford substances to alleviate the boredom" of press appearances and TV performances, Ball said.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a valid cause, because it works for so many musicians."
Amidst the hedonistic lifestyle, the pair were also growing distant, but they managed to produce a follow-up memorable record - the unconventional, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released one more album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the band to focus on other projects.
Almond went on to have a successful individual path, featuring the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who mixed acid house with ambient pop over a enduring partnership.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell came back together in the early 2000s, producing the charting album Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following a further hiatus, they reappeared in 2018, issuing the new tracks 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, that year.
Yet, they remained active, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.
Ball lately characterized the band's new album as a tribute to the NYC nightlife they frequented while recording their first two albums.
He noted that his period in medical care had influenced the group's music.
"I had unusual memories when I was coming and going of the hospital because I was on morphine," he explained to a music magazine.
"Our latest tracks are a digital reflection of the sounds in my mind from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the times me and Marc had in the 1980s."
The final mixes were completed only days before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for release in the spring of 2026.
