Dave Ball, a key member of the groundbreaking 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the pair scored a worldwide hit with their version of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in 1984, and their debut album their initial full-length release is considered a classic of electronic music.
He later formed the pioneering electronic act The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with their 1994 single the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball died calmly in his rest 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
At that performance, Ball performed in a mobility chair, as he had for the previous couple of years, following a period of ill-health.
"I managed to damage myself quite a bit," he commented in a recent interview. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my spine and fractured about multiple ribs and fractured my arm."
Following catching pneumonia and developing sepsis, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and stayed in hospital for seven months.
However, he had been in "high spirits mentally" over the summer, as he was developing a fresh record with Almond, called the upcoming Danceteria, which is set for release in the coming year.
"He was concentrated and so happy with the latest project that we literally completed only a short time ago," said 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 find comfort from the knowledge that he heard the finished record and believed that it was a masterpiece."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond described his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant musical genius", adding: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our legacy.
"Thank you Dave for being an immense part of my life and for the songs you gave me. I couldn't be where I am without you."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, also paid tribute, recalling Ball's "endless laughter" and "unwavering friendship".
"Forming a duo with someone is distinct from being in a band, the bond is very tight," he continued.
"That's how it was with us. We experienced so many extraordinary, incredible, memorable experiences together. 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 18 months old.
He grew up in the seaside town with his new family his caregivers, who changed his first name from Paul to his adopted name, alongside his younger sister Susan, who was also adopted.
He encountered 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 same year, and promptly recorded an EP.
Creative Collaboration
The duo were an distinctive pairing: Ball was the reserved musician, hunched over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic showman, 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 began to combine moody electronic sounds to the catchy tunes Almond was composing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second biggest-selling single of 1981, shifting 21 million units worldwide. Alongside successful tracks by other artists, Human League and electronic acts, it helped cleared the way for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.
The song was also featured on their full-length debut, their initial LP, which produced two further high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the album up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at number two in the following year.
Professional Journey
Fame had its upsides. "I enjoyed being able to purchase my first home, having money and travelling, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball not long ago shared with a publication.
But it also caused problems. "Newfound wealth allowed we could afford substances to relieve the monotony" of press appearances and television shows, Ball said.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a valid cause, because it applies for so many musicians."
Amidst the hedonistic lifestyle, the pair were also drifting apart, but they succeeded to produce a follow-up classic album - the unconventional, edgy and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released one more album, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band to concentrate on individual endeavors.
Almond went on to have a prosperous solo career, featuring the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who mixed dance music with melodic sounds over a long-lasting collaboration.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell reunited in 2001, producing the charting record Cruelty Without Beauty.
After another hiatus, they returned in 2018, issuing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was supposed to be a farewell show at the large venue on September 30, that year.
Yet, they remained together, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.
Ball recently described the duo's upcoming release as a homage to the New York club scene they visited while recording their first two albums.
He added that his period in hospital had shaped the band's sound.
"I had strange recollections when I was coming and going of the hospital because I was on morphine," he told a publication.
"Our latest tracks are a digital reflection of the sounds in my head from that time.
"Simultaneously, it's about the times me and Marc got up to in the 1980s."
The last versions were finished only a short time before Ball died. It is due for launch in Spring 2026.
