Dave Ball, a key member of the innovative 1980s synth-pop duo Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the team scored a worldwide hit with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in 1984, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a classic of electronic music.
He later formed the innovative electronic act The Grid, who achieved chart success with their 1994 single the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully in his sleep at his residence in London on Wednesday 22 October, just weeks after playing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in Henley-on-Thames.
Health Struggles
During that performance, Ball performed in a wheelchair, as he had for the previous couple of years, after a spate of ill-health.
"I managed to injure myself quite a bit," he commented in a recent interview. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my back and fractured about five ribs and fractured my wrist."
Following catching a lung infection and suffering from blood poisoning, he was placed in an induced coma and stayed in the hospital for half a year.
However, he had been in "a great place mentally" over the warmer months, as he was developing a new album with Almond, called Danceteria, which is scheduled for release next year.
"He was concentrated and so happy with the latest project that we actually finished only a short time ago," stated the vocalist in a heartfelt message.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was all set to be such an positive time for him, and I find comfort from the fact that he listened to the completed album and believed that it was a masterpiece."
Tributes
Almond referred to his bandmate as "an exceptionally talented musical genius", stating: "He was the heart and soul 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 music you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without your influence."
Richard Norris from The Grid, also paid tribute, recalling Ball's "endless laughter" and "steadfast support".
"Being in a duo with someone is distinct from joining a band, the connection is very tight," he added.
"That was the case with us. We went through so many remarkable, extraordinary, memorable moments together. Thank you, Dave."
Formative Years
Born into a one-parent family in Chester in 1959, Ball was put up for adoption when he was a year and a half of age.
He was raised in Blackpool with his new family his caregivers, who changed his first name from Paul to David, together with his sibling Susan, who was also adopted.
He met Almond at an art college in the late 70s, where they were both learning art. Inspired by a mutual passion of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and quickly produced an EP.
Creative Collaboration
The duo were an distinctive combination: Ball was the reserved technician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all sparkle and makeup; but they achieved a rare creative synergy.
Ball had developed a fascination with synthesizers after viewing the band Kraftwerk appear on a television science show Tomorrow's World, and started to combine dark electronica to the catchy tunes Almond was composing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second most popular song of the early 80s, shifting millions of copies globally. Together with successful tracks by Gary Numan, Human League and electronic acts, it contributed to cleared the way for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The song was also featured on their full-length debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which produced two additional high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the record up with the separate release, Torch, which peaked at number two in 1982.
Career Highlights
Success had its upsides. "I loved being able to purchase my first home, having financial security and exploring, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball recently told with a music magazine.
But it also presented problems. "Sudden riches meant we could afford substances to alleviate the boredom" of media interviews and television shows, Ball explained.
"I know that's a common saying, but it's a cliché for a valid cause, because it works for so many bands."
Amidst the party-filled existence, the pair were also growing distant, but they succeeded to create a follow-up classic album - the wayward, edgy and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released another album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band to concentrate on other projects.
Almond went on to have a prosperous individual path, including the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who mixed dance music with melodic sounds over a long-lasting partnership.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell came back together in the early 2000s, producing the charting record Cruelty Without Beauty.
After another break, they reappeared in 2018, issuing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was intended to be a final performance at the O2 Arena on 30 September, 2018.
Yet, they remained active, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic restrictions.
Ball recently characterized the band's new album as a homage to the NYC nightlife they visited while making their first two albums.
He noted that his period in hospital had influenced the band's sound.
"I experienced unusual memories when I was in and out of hospital because I was on morphine," he told a music magazine.
"Our latest tracks are a digital reflection of the noises in my mind from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences me and Marc had in the 1980s."
The last versions were completed only days before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for release in the spring of 2026.
