Dave Ball, one half of the pioneering 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the duo scored a worldwide hit with their cover of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a seminal work of synth-pop.
He subsequently founded the pioneering electronic act The Grid, who achieved chart success with their 1994 single Swamp Thing.
Ball died calmly in his sleep at his home in London on Wednesday 22 October, just weeks after performing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in Henley-on-Thames.
Recent Health Challenges
During that show, Ball performed in a wheelchair, as he had for the previous couple of years, after a period of health issues.
"I managed to injure myself quite a bit," he commented in 2023. "I broke spinal bones in my back and cracked about five ribs and broke my arm."
Following catching pneumonia and developing sepsis, he was placed in an medically-induced sleep and stayed in the hospital for half a year.
Nevertheless, he had been in "high spirits mentally" during the warmer months, as he was developing a new album with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is scheduled for release next year.
"He was focused and so happy with the latest project that we actually completed only a few days ago," said the vocalist in a tribute.
"It's so sad as next year was all set to be such an uplifting time for him, and I find comfort from the knowledge that he heard the finished record and felt that it was a great piece of work."
Tributes
Almond referred to his bandmate as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", stating: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our body of work.
"Many thanks Dave for being an immense part of my life and for the songs you gave me. I wouldn't be where I am without your influence."
Richard Norris from The Grid, also paid tribute, recalling Ball's "constant humor" and "unwavering friendship".
"Being in a duo with someone is different from joining a band, the connection is very tight," he added.
"That's how it was with us. We experienced so many remarkable, extraordinary, life-affirming experiences as a team. Thank you, Dave."
Early Life
Born into a one-parent family in Chester in 1959, Ball was given 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 altered his first name from his birth name to his adopted name, alongside his younger sister his sister, who was similarly welcomed.
He met Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in the late 70s, where they were both learning fine arts. Fuelled by a mutual passion of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and quickly produced an EP.
Creative Collaboration
The pair were an distinctive combination: Ball was the reserved technician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they achieved a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with synthesizers after viewing the band Kraftwerk appear on BBC program Tomorrow's World, and began to combine dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.
Their signature song became the United Kingdom's second most popular single of the early 80s, shifting 21 million copies globally. Together with successful tracks by other artists, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it helped cleared the way for the electronic music style of the 80s.
The track was also included on their full-length debut, their initial LP, which produced two additional top five hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the record up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which reached at the second position in 1982.
Career Highlights
Success had its upsides. "I enjoyed being able to afford my first home, having financial security and exploring, which might seem like a beauty queen," Ball not long ago shared with a publication.
But it also caused challenges. "Sudden riches meant we could afford newfound drugs to relieve the monotony" of press appearances and television shows, Ball explained.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a valid cause, because it works for so many musicians."
Amidst the hedonistic lifestyle, the pair were also growing distant, but they succeeded to create a second classic album - the wayward, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out another LP, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group to focus on individual endeavors.
Almond went on to have a successful individual path, including 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 enduring collaboration.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, releasing the Top 40 album Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following a further break, they returned in recent years, releasing 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, that year.
Yet, they remained together, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.
Ball lately characterized the duo's upcoming release as a tribute to the New York club scene they visited while recording their initial records.
He noted that his period in medical care had influenced the group's music.
"I had unusual memories when I was in and out of the hospital because I was on morphine," he explained to a music magazine.
"The new songs are a electronic representation of the sounds in my mind from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences me and Marc had in the 1980s."
The final mixes were completed only a short time before Ball passed away. It is due for launch in the spring of 2026.
