Dave Ball, one half of the pioneering 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Together with singer Marc Almond, the team achieved a worldwide hit with their version of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a seminal work of electronic music.
He subsequently founded the innovative techno group The Grid, who achieved chart success with their 1994 single the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully in his rest at his residence in London on October 22, only a short time after playing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in Henley-on-Thames.
Recent Health Challenges
During that show, Ball performed in a wheelchair, as he had for the previous couple of years, following a spate of ill-health.
"I ended up injure myself quite a bit," he stated in a recent interview. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my spine and fractured about five ribs and fractured my arm."
Following contracting pneumonia and developing blood poisoning, he was placed in an induced coma and stayed in hospital for seven months.
However, he had been in "high spirits emotionally" over the warmer months, as he was developing a new album with Almond, called Danceteria, which is set for publication next year.
"He was focused and very pleased with the new album that we literally finished only a short time ago," said the vocalist in a tribute.
"It's so sad as next year was all set to be such an uplifting time for him, and I find comfort from the knowledge that he listened to the completed album and believed that it was a great piece of work."
Tributes
Almond referred to his bandmate as "an exceptionally talented creative mastermind", adding: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our legacy.
"Thank you Dave for being an significant part of my life and for the songs you gave me. I couldn't be where I am without you."
Richard Norris from The Grid, also paid tribute, recalling Ball's "endless laughter" and "unwavering friendship".
"Being in a partnership with someone is distinct from joining a band, the bond is very tight," he added.
"That was the case with us. We went through so many remarkable, extraordinary, life-affirming moments together. Thank you, Dave."
Early Life
Born into a one-parent family in Chester in 1959, Ball was given up for adoption when he was 18 months old.
He was raised in Blackpool with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his first name from his birth name to his adopted name, alongside his sibling his sister, who was similarly welcomed.
He met Almond at an art college in the late 70s, where they were both studying fine arts. Inspired 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 distinctive pairing: Ball was the reserved musician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all glitter and eye-liner; but they achieved a rare musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with electronic instruments after viewing Kraftwerk appear on BBC science show Tomorrow's World, and started to combine dark electronica to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second biggest-selling single of 1981, shifting millions of copies globally. Together with successful tracks by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it helped cleared the path for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.
The song was also featured on their full-length debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which produced two further top five hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the record up with the separate release, Torch, which peaked at the second position in the following year.
Professional Journey
Success had its upsides. "I loved being able to purchase my initial property, having financial security and travelling, which makes me sound like a Miss World," Ball recently shared with a music magazine.
But it also caused problems. "Sudden riches allowed we could afford newfound drugs to relieve the monotony" of media interviews and TV performances, Ball explained.
"I know that's a common saying, but it's a cliché for a good reason, because it applies for so many musicians."
During the party-filled existence, the pair were also growing distant, but they managed to create a second classic album - the wayward, edgy and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out one more LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the group to focus on individual endeavors.
Almond proceeded 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 combined acid house with melodic sounds over a enduring partnership.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, releasing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.
After another hiatus, they reappeared in 2018, releasing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was intended to be a farewell show at the large venue on September 30, 2018.
However, they stayed together, recording their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.
Ball recently described the duo's new album as a tribute to the New York club scene they frequented while making their initial records.
He noted that his time in hospital had shaped the band's sound.
"I had unusual memories when I was coming and going of hospital because I was on morphine," he told a music magazine.
"The new songs are a electronic representation of the noises in my head from that time.
"Simultaneously, it's about the times we got up to in the 1980s."
The last versions were completed only a short time before Ball died. It is due for launch in the spring of 2026.
