Dave Ball, one half of the groundbreaking 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Alongside vocalist Marc Almond, the team achieved 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 synth-pop.
He later formed the innovative electronic act The Grid, who secured chart success with their 1994 single Swamp Thing.
Ball died calmly in his rest at his home in London on October 22, just weeks after playing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in Henley-on-Thames.
Health Struggles
During that performance, Ball appeared in a mobility chair, 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 spinal bones in my spine and fractured about five ribs and fractured my wrist."
After catching pneumonia and developing sepsis, he was placed in an medically-induced sleep and stayed in the hospital for seven months.
However, he had been in "high spirits emotionally" over the summer, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, titled the upcoming Danceteria, which is set for release in the coming year.
"He was concentrated and very pleased with the latest project that we actually finished only a short time ago," stated the vocalist in a heartfelt message.
"It's so sad as next year was all set to be such an uplifting year for him, and I find comfort from the fact that he heard the finished record and believed that it was a masterpiece."
Tributes
Almond described his bandmate as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", stating: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our body of work.
"Many thanks Dave for being an immense aspect of my life and for the music you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without your influence."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, also paid tribute, remembering Ball's "endless laughter" and "steadfast support".
"Forming a duo with someone is distinct from joining a group, the connection is incredibly close," he added.
"That was the case with us. We experienced so many extraordinary, incredible, memorable experiences together. Thank you, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a single-parent household in Chester in the late 50s, 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 Paul to David, alongside his sibling his sister, who was similarly welcomed.
He met Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both learning art. Inspired by a shared love of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and quickly produced an EP.
Musical Partnership
The duo were an unusual pairing: Ball was the quiet musician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all sparkle and makeup; but they attained a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had developed a fascination with synthesizers after watching the band Kraftwerk perform 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 most popular single of the early 80s, selling 21 million copies worldwide. Together with hits by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it contributed to paved the way for the electronic music style of the 80s.
The track was also featured on their full-length debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which produced two additional top five hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the album up with the separate release, Torch, which peaked at the second position in 1982.
Professional Journey
Fame had its upsides. "I loved being able to afford my first home, having financial security and travelling, which makes me sound like a Miss World," Ball recently shared with a music magazine.
But it also presented problems. "Sudden riches meant we could purchase newfound drugs to relieve the monotony" of press appearances and TV performances, Ball explained.
"I know that's a common saying, but it's a truism for a valid cause, because it applies for so many musicians."
During the party-filled existence, the duo were also growing distant, but they managed to create a follow-up memorable record - the wayward, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out one more album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the group to concentrate on other projects.
Almond proceeded to have a successful solo career, featuring the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who mixed acid house with ambient pop over a enduring collaboration.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, producing the charting record Cruelty Without Beauty.
After another break, they reappeared in recent years, releasing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was supposed to be a final performance at the O2 Arena on 30 September, that year.
However, they remained together, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic restrictions.
Ball lately described the band's upcoming release as a homage to the New York club scene they frequented while recording their initial records.
He added that his time in hospital had shaped the band's sound.
"I experienced strange recollections when I was coming and going of the hospital because I was on morphine," he explained to a publication.
"Our latest tracks are a digital reflection of the noises in my mind from that time.
"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences we got up to in the 80s."
The last versions were completed only a short time before Ball passed away. It is due for launch in Spring 2026.
