Dave Ball, one half of the pioneering 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Alongside vocalist Marc Almond, the duo scored a global success with their version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in 1984, and their first record their initial full-length release is considered a classic of synth-pop.
He subsequently founded the innovative techno group The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with their 1994 single Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully in his sleep at his home in London on Wednesday 22 October, just weeks after playing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in the Thames-side town.
Health Struggles
During that show, Ball performed in a mobility chair, as he had for the last two years, after a period of health issues.
"I managed to injure myself quite a bit," he stated in a recent interview. "I broke spinal bones in my spine and fractured about five ribs and broke my arm."
Following catching a lung infection and suffering from sepsis, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and remained in hospital for seven months.
However, he had been in "a great place mentally" over the summer, as he was developing a fresh record with Almond, called the upcoming 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," stated the vocalist in a tribute.
"It's truly heartbreaking 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 completed album and believed that it was a masterpiece."
Tributes
Almond referred to his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant musical genius", stating: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our legacy.
"Thank you 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, shared his condolences, recalling Ball's "endless laughter" and "steadfast support".
"Being in a duo with someone is different from joining a band, the connection is very tight," he continued.
"That's how it was with us. We experienced so many remarkable, incredible, memorable experiences together. Many thanks, Dave."
Formative Years
Brought into the world into a single-parent household in Chester in the late 50s, Ball was given up for adoption when he was a year and a half old.
He was raised in the seaside town with adoptive parents his caregivers, who altered his first name from Paul to David, together with his younger sister Susan, who was similarly welcomed.
He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in the late 70s, where they were both learning fine arts. Inspired by a shared love of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and promptly produced an EP.
Creative Collaboration
The duo were an unusual combination: Ball was the reserved technician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant showman, all glitter and eye-liner; but they achieved a rare musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with electronic instruments after watching the band Kraftwerk appear on BBC program Tomorrow's World, and started to marry dark electronica to the catchy tunes Almond was composing.
Their signature song became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling single of the early 80s, selling 21 million copies globally. Together with hits by other artists, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it helped cleared the way for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The track was also featured on their first album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, 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.
Professional Journey
Fame had its upsides. "I enjoyed being able to afford my first home, having money and travelling, which makes me sound like a Miss World," Ball not long ago told with a publication.
But it also presented problems. "Sudden riches allowed we could afford substances to relieve the monotony" of media interviews and TV performances, Ball said.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a valid cause, because it works for so many bands."
Amidst the party-filled existence, the pair were also growing distant, but they managed to create a second classic album - the unconventional, edgy and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out one more LP, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group to concentrate on individual endeavors.
Almond proceeded to have a successful solo career, including the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who mixed acid house with melodic sounds over a long-lasting collaboration.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell reunited in 2001, producing the Top 40 album Cruelty Without Beauty.
After a further hiatus, they returned in 2018, issuing 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, 2018.
However, they remained active, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic restrictions.
Ball lately characterized the band's new album as a tribute to the NYC nightlife they frequented while making their first two albums.
He noted that his time in medical care had influenced the group's music.
"I had unusual memories when I was coming and going of the hospital because I was on pain medication," he told a music magazine.
"The new songs are a electronic representation of the sounds in my mind from those days.
"In parallel, it's about the experiences me and Marc had in the 80s."
The last versions were finished only days before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for release in Spring 2026.
