Dave Ball, a key member of the innovative 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Together with vocalist Marc Almond, the duo achieved a worldwide hit with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a classic of electronic music.
He subsequently formed the innovative techno group The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with their 1994 single Swamp Thing.
Ball died calmly in his sleep at his residence in London on Wednesday 22 October, only a short time after playing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in the Thames-side town.
Recent Health Challenges
At that show, Ball performed in a mobility chair, as he had for the previous couple of years, following a period of health issues.
"I managed to injure myself significantly," he commented in a recent interview. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my spine and fractured about five ribs and broke my wrist."
After contracting a lung infection and developing blood poisoning, he was placed in an medically-induced sleep and stayed in the hospital for seven months.
Nevertheless, he had been in "high spirits mentally" during the summer, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is scheduled for release next year.
"He was focused and very pleased with the new album that we actually finished only a short time ago," stated the singer in a heartfelt message.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was completely planned to be such an uplifting year for him, and I take some solace from the fact that he listened to the finished record and felt that it was a great piece of work."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond described his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant musical genius", adding: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our body of work.
"Many thanks Dave for being an significant aspect of my life and for the music you gave 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 "unwavering friendship".
"Being in a duo with someone is different from being in a band, the connection is incredibly close," he added.
"That was the case with us. We went through so many extraordinary, incredible, life-affirming moments together. Thank you, Dave."
Early Life
Born 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 old.
He grew up in Blackpool with his new family Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his first name from Paul to David, together with his sibling his sister, who was similarly welcomed.
He met Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both studying fine arts. Inspired by a mutual passion of Northern Soul, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and quickly recorded an extended play.
Creative Collaboration
The duo were an unusual combination: Ball was the reserved musician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all glitter and eye-liner; but they achieved a unique creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with electronic instruments after watching Kraftwerk perform on a television program a popular series, and started to combine dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second biggest-selling song of the early 80s, shifting 21 million units worldwide. Alongside successful tracks by Gary Numan, contemporary bands 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 spawned two further top five hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the album up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at the second position in the following year.
Career Highlights
Success had its benefits. "I enjoyed being able to afford my first home, having financial security and travelling, which might seem like a beauty queen," Ball not long ago shared with a music magazine.
But it also presented problems. "Newfound wealth allowed we could afford substances to alleviate 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 classic album - the wayward, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out one more album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group to concentrate on individual endeavors.
Almond went on to have a successful individual path, featuring the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who mixed acid house with ambient pop over a long-lasting partnership.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell came back together in 2001, releasing the Top 40 album Cruelty Without Beauty.
After another hiatus, they returned in 2018, issuing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was intended to be a final performance at the large venue on September 30, that year.
Yet, they stayed active, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.
Ball recently characterized the duo's new album as a tribute to the New York club scene they visited while making their first two albums.
He noted that his time in medical care had influenced the group's music.
"I experienced unusual memories when I was in and out of the hospital because I was on pain medication," he told a publication.
"The new songs are a electronic representation of the noises in my head from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the times me and Marc had in the 1980s."
The final mixes were finished only days before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for launch in Spring 2026.
