Dave Ball, a key member of the groundbreaking 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 version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in 1984, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a seminal work of synth-pop.
He later founded the innovative electronic act The Grid, who achieved chart success with 1994's Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully in his sleep at his home in London on October 22, only a short time after performing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in Henley-on-Thames.
Health Struggles
During that performance, Ball performed in a wheelchair, as he had for the last two years, after a spate of health issues.
"I ended up injure myself significantly," he commented in 2023. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my back and cracked about five ribs and broke my arm."
Following catching a lung infection and suffering from sepsis, he was placed in an induced coma and stayed in the hospital for seven months.
However, he had been in "high spirits emotionally" during the summer, as he worked on a new album with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication next year.
"He was focused and very pleased with the latest project that we actually finished only a few days ago," said the singer in a heartfelt message.
"It's so sad as next year was all set to be such an positive year for him, and I take some solace from the fact that he heard the finished record and believed that it was a masterpiece."
Tributes
Almond referred to his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", stating: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our legacy.
"Many thanks Dave for being an significant part of my life and for the songs you created with me. I wouldn't be where I am without you."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, shared his condolences, remembering Ball's "constant humor" and "unwavering friendship".
"Forming a partnership with someone is distinct from being in a group, the connection is very tight," he continued.
"That was the case with us. We went through so many extraordinary, extraordinary, memorable moments together. Many thanks, Dave."
Formative Years
Brought into the world into a one-parent family in Chester in the late 50s, Ball was given up for adoption when he was a year and a half of age.
He was raised in Blackpool with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who altered his first name from his birth name to his adopted name, alongside his sibling his sister, who was similarly welcomed.
He met Almond at an art college in the late 70s, where they were both learning art. Fuelled by a mutual passion of Northern Soul, they established Soft Cell the very year, and promptly recorded an extended play.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an unusual combination: Ball was the reserved technician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant showman, all sparkle and makeup; but they attained a rare musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with electronic instruments after watching the band Kraftwerk appear on BBC program a popular series, and began to combine moody electronic sounds to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.
Their signature song became the UK's second biggest-selling song of the early 80s, selling millions of units globally. Together with hits by other artists, Human League and Ultravox, it contributed to cleared the way for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The song was also included on their full-length debut, their initial LP, which produced two further top five singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the album up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at number two in 1982.
Career Highlights
Fame had its benefits. "I loved being able to afford my first home, having money and exploring, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball not long ago told with a music magazine.
But it also caused challenges. "Newfound wealth meant we could afford newfound drugs to relieve the boredom" of media interviews and television shows, Ball said.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a valid cause, because it works for so many bands."
During the hedonistic lifestyle, the pair were also drifting apart, but they managed to produce a follow-up memorable record - 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 band 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 formed The Grid, who combined acid house with melodic sounds over a long-lasting collaboration.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell came back together in 2001, producing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following a further hiatus, they reappeared in 2018, releasing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was supposed to be a farewell show at the large venue on 30 September, that year.
Yet, they remained active, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.
Ball recently characterized the duo's new album as a homage to the New York club scene they visited while making their initial records.
He added that his period in hospital had shaped the band's sound.
"I had strange recollections when I was in and out of the hospital because I was on morphine," he explained to 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 had in the 1980s."
The final mixes were finished only a short time before Ball died. It is due for launch in the spring of 2026.
