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 team achieved a global success with their version of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a seminal work of synth-pop.
He later formed the innovative techno group The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with 1994's Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his rest at his home in London on October 22, only a short time after playing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in Henley-on-Thames.
Recent Health Challenges
During that performance, Ball performed in a wheelchair, as he had for the previous couple of years, following a period of health issues.
"I managed to damage myself significantly," he commented in a recent interview. "I broke lower vertebrae in my spine and fractured about five ribs and broke my wrist."
Following contracting a lung infection and suffering from sepsis, he was placed in an medically-induced sleep and remained in the hospital for seven months.
Nevertheless, he had been in "a great place emotionally" over the warmer months, as he was developing a fresh record with Almond, called the upcoming Danceteria, which is set for release in the coming year.
"He was focused and very pleased with the new album that we literally finished only a few days ago," stated 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 take some solace from the fact that he heard the completed album and felt that it was a masterpiece."
Tributes
Almond described 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.
"Thank you Dave for being an significant aspect of my life and for the songs you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without your influence."
Richard Norris from The Grid, also paid tribute, remembering Ball's "endless laughter" and "unwavering friendship".
"Being in a duo with someone is distinct from being in a group, the bond is very tight," he added.
"That's how it was with us. We went through so many extraordinary, incredible, memorable experiences as a team. Thank you, Dave."
Formative Years
Brought into the world into a one-parent family in Chester in the late 50s, Ball was put up for adoption when he was a year and a half 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, alongside his sibling his sister, who was similarly welcomed.
He encountered Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both learning art. Inspired by a mutual passion of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the very year, and promptly recorded an EP.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an unusual pairing: Ball was the reserved musician, hunched over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all glitter and makeup; but they achieved a unique creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with synthesizers after watching the band Kraftwerk perform on BBC science show Tomorrow's World, and started to marry dark electronica to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling single of 1981, shifting millions of units globally. Alongside successful tracks by Gary Numan, Human League and electronic acts, it contributed to cleared the path for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.
The track was also included on their first album, their initial LP, which spawned two additional top five singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the album up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at number two in 1982.
Professional Journey
Fame had its benefits. "I loved being able to afford my first home, having financial security and travelling, which might seem like a beauty queen," Ball not long ago told with a music magazine.
But it also presented challenges. "Sudden riches meant we could purchase newfound drugs to alleviate the boredom" of press appearances and television shows, Ball explained.
"I realize that's a common saying, but it's a cliché for a valid cause, because it applies for so many bands."
During the party-filled existence, the duo were also growing distant, but they managed to produce a follow-up classic album - the wayward, tense 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 other projects.
Almond proceeded to have a prosperous individual path, including the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created 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, releasing the Top 40 album Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following a further hiatus, they returned in recent years, releasing 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, 2018.
However, they stayed together, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic restrictions.
Ball recently characterized the band's new album as a tribute to the New York club scene they frequented while making their initial records.
He noted that his period in hospital had influenced the band's sound.
"I had strange recollections when I was in and out of hospital because I was on morphine," he explained to a publication.
"Our latest tracks are a digital reflection of the noises in my head from that time.
"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences 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.
