Dave Ball, a key member of the innovative 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Alongside vocalist Marc Almond, the duo achieved a worldwide hit with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in 1984, and their debut album their initial full-length release is considered a seminal work of synth-pop.
He subsequently founded the innovative techno group The Grid, who achieved chart success 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 headline show 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 last two years, following a spate of ill-health.
"I managed to damage myself quite a bit," he commented in 2023. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my back and cracked about multiple ribs and broke my wrist."
After catching pneumonia and developing sepsis, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and remained in the hospital for half a year.
However, he had been in "high spirits mentally" during the summer, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, titled the upcoming Danceteria, which is set for publication next year.
"He was focused and so happy with the new album that we actually completed only a short time ago," stated the vocalist in a heartfelt message.
"It's truly heartbreaking 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 finished record and believed that it was a great piece of work."
Tributes
Almond described his collaborator 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.
"Many thanks Dave for being an immense aspect of my life and for the music you gave me. I wouldn't be where I am without you."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, also paid tribute, recalling Ball's "constant humor" and "unwavering friendship".
"Being in a duo with someone is distinct from joining a group, the bond is very tight," he added.
"That was the case with us. We went through so many extraordinary, extraordinary, life-affirming experiences as a team. Thank you, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world 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 grew up in Blackpool with his new family Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his given name from his birth name to his adopted name, alongside his sibling Susan, who was also adopted.
He met Almond at an art college in the late 70s, where they were both studying art. Inspired by a mutual passion of Northern Soul, they established Soft Cell the same year, and quickly produced an extended play.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an distinctive combination: Ball was the reserved technician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they attained a unique creative synergy.
Ball had developed a interest with synthesizers after watching the band Kraftwerk appear on BBC science show a popular series, and started to marry dark electronica to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second biggest-selling song of the early 80s, selling millions of units globally. Together with hits by other artists, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it contributed to cleared the path for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The track was also included on their full-length debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which spawned two further high-charting hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the record up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which peaked at the second position in the following year.
Career Highlights
Success had its upsides. "I loved being able to purchase my first home, having money and exploring, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball recently shared with a music magazine.
But it also caused problems. "Sudden riches allowed we could purchase newfound drugs to alleviate the boredom" of press appearances and TV performances, Ball explained.
"I know that's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a good reason, because it applies for so many musicians."
Amidst the hedonistic lifestyle, the pair were also drifting apart, but they succeeded to create a second memorable record - the wayward, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released one more LP, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the group to concentrate on other projects.
Almond proceeded to have a prosperous solo career, including the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who combined acid house with ambient pop over a enduring collaboration.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell came back together in 2001, producing the Top 40 album Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following another hiatus, they returned in recent years, 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 30 September, that year.
Yet, they remained together, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.
Ball recently characterized the band's upcoming release as a homage to the NYC nightlife they frequented while making their first two albums.
He added that his time in medical care had shaped the band's sound.
"I had unusual memories when I was coming and going of the hospital because I was on morphine," he told a publication.
"The new songs are a digital reflection of the sounds in my head from those days.
"In parallel, it's about the times me and Marc got up to in the 80s."
The final mixes were finished only a short time before Ball died. It is scheduled for release in Spring 2026.
