Dave Ball, one half of the innovative 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Alongside vocalist Marc Almond, the pair achieved a global success with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a classic of synth-pop.
He subsequently founded the pioneering electronic act The Grid, who achieved popular acclaim with 1994's Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his sleep at his residence 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
At that performance, Ball appeared in a mobility chair, as he had for the last two years, after a period of ill-health.
"I managed to damage myself quite a bit," he commented in a recent interview. "I fractured spinal bones in my spine and cracked about five ribs and fractured my arm."
Following catching pneumonia and suffering from blood poisoning, he was placed in an induced coma and remained in the hospital for seven months.
However, he had been in "a great place emotionally" over the summer, as he worked on a new album with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is set for publication next year.
"He was focused and so happy with the latest project that we actually finished only a few days ago," stated 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 find comfort from the fact that he heard the completed album and felt that it was a masterpiece."
Tributes
Almond described his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant musical genius", stating: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our body of work.
"Thank you Dave for being an immense aspect of my life and for the songs 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 "unwavering friendship".
"Being in a duo with someone is different from joining a band, the bond is very tight," he continued.
"That's how it was with us. We went through so many extraordinary, extraordinary, memorable moments together. Thank you, Dave."
Formative Years
Brought into the world into a single-parent household in Chester in 1959, Ball was given up for adoption when he was 18 months of age.
He was raised in Blackpool with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who altered his given name from Paul to his adopted name, together with his sibling his sister, who was similarly welcomed.
He met Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in the late 70s, where they were both studying art. Inspired by a mutual passion of Northern Soul, they established Soft Cell the same year, and promptly recorded an extended play.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an unusual pairing: Ball was the quiet musician, hunched over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all sparkle and makeup; but they achieved a rare musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with synthesizers after viewing Kraftwerk appear on a television program a popular series, and started to combine moody electronic sounds to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling song of 1981, selling 21 million units globally. Together with hits by Gary Numan, Human League and electronic acts, it contributed to cleared the way for the synth-pop sound of the 80s.
The song was also included on their full-length debut, their initial LP, which produced two additional high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the album up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at number two in the following year.
Career Highlights
Success had its benefits. "I enjoyed being able to afford my initial property, having money and exploring, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball recently told with a publication.
But it also presented problems. "Newfound wealth allowed we could afford substances to alleviate the monotony" of media interviews and TV performances, Ball said.
"I know that's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a good reason, because it applies for so many musicians."
Amidst the party-filled existence, the duo 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 album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group to focus on other projects.
Almond proceeded to have a prosperous solo career, featuring the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who combined dance music with melodic sounds over a enduring partnership.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell came back together in the early 2000s, producing the Top 40 album Cruelty Without Beauty.
After a further break, they returned in 2018, issuing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was supposed to be a final performance at the large venue on September 30, that year.
However, they remained active, recording their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic restrictions.
Ball lately characterized the duo's upcoming release as a homage to the New York club scene they frequented while making their first two albums.
He added that his period in hospital had influenced the group's music.
"I experienced unusual memories when I was in and out of hospital because I was on morphine," he told a publication.
"Our latest tracks are a electronic representation of the noises in my head from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences me and Marc had in the 1980s."
The final mixes were finished only a short time before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for launch in the spring of 2026.
