Dave Ball, one half of the innovative 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the duo achieved a worldwide hit with their cover of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record their initial full-length release is considered a seminal work of electronic music.
He later founded the innovative techno group The Grid, who secured chart success with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully in his sleep 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.
Recent Health Challenges
At that show, Ball performed in a wheelchair, as he had for the previous couple of years, following a period of ill-health.
"I ended up damage myself quite a bit," he commented in a recent interview. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my back and fractured about five ribs and fractured my wrist."
Following catching pneumonia and developing sepsis, he was placed in an induced coma and remained in hospital for half a year.
However, he had been in "high spirits emotionally" during the warmer months, as he was developing a new album with Almond, called the upcoming Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication next year.
"He was concentrated and very pleased with the new album that we literally completed only a few days ago," said the singer in a tribute.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was completely planned to be such an uplifting time for him, and I find comfort from the fact that he listened to the finished record and believed 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 extremely pleased of our body of work.
"Many thanks Dave for being an significant aspect 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 "steadfast support".
"Being in a partnership with someone is distinct from being in a group, the connection is very tight," he continued.
"That's how it was with us. We experienced so many remarkable, incredible, life-affirming experiences as a team. Thank you, Dave."
Formative Years
Born into a single-parent household in Chester in 1959, Ball was given up for adoption when he was 18 months old.
He grew up in the seaside town with his new family Donald and Brenda Ball, who altered his given name from his birth name to his adopted name, alongside his younger sister his sister, who was similarly welcomed.
He encountered Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both studying art. Inspired by a shared love of Northern Soul, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and promptly recorded an extended play.
Musical Partnership
The duo were an distinctive combination: Ball was the quiet musician, hunched over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all glitter and eye-liner; but they attained a rare musical alchemy.
Ball had developed a interest with synthesizers after viewing Kraftwerk perform on a television program a popular series, and began to combine moody electronic sounds to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second biggest-selling song of the early 80s, selling 21 million units worldwide. Alongside hits by other artists, Human League and electronic acts, it contributed to cleared the way for the electronic music style of the 80s.
The track was also featured on their full-length debut, their initial LP, which produced two further high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the record up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at the second position in the following year.
Professional Journey
Success had its upsides. "I loved being able to purchase my first home, having money and travelling, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball recently told with a music magazine.
But it also presented problems. "Newfound wealth meant we could afford substances to relieve the boredom" of media interviews and TV performances, Ball explained.
"I know that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a good reason, because it works for so many bands."
During the hedonistic lifestyle, the pair were also growing distant, but they managed to create a second classic album - the wayward, edgy and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out one more LP, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the band to concentrate on other projects.
Almond went on to have a successful individual path, featuring the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who mixed dance music with melodic sounds over a long-lasting partnership.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell came back together in the early 2000s, releasing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.
After another break, they returned in 2018, issuing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was intended to be a farewell show at the O2 Arena on September 30, that year.
However, they stayed together, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic restrictions.
Ball lately described the band's upcoming release as a tribute to the New York club scene they frequented while recording their first two albums.
He noted that his time in hospital had shaped the band's sound.
"I experienced strange recollections 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 sounds in my head from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences we got up to in the 80s."
The final mixes were completed only a short time before Ball died. It is scheduled for release in Spring 2026.
