Dave Ball, one half of the innovative 1980s synth-pop band Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Together with singer Marc Almond, the team scored a global success with their version of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a seminal work of electronic music.
He subsequently founded the innovative electronic act The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with their 1994 single the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball died peacefully in his sleep at his home in London on October 22, only a short time after performing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in Henley-on-Thames.
Recent Health Challenges
During that show, Ball appeared in a wheelchair, as he had for the previous couple of years, after a spate of health issues.
"I managed to injure myself significantly," he stated in 2023. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my spine and cracked about multiple ribs and broke my wrist."
Following catching pneumonia and developing sepsis, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and remained in the hospital for half a year.
However, he had been in "a great place mentally" over the summer, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, called the upcoming Danceteria, which is set for publication in the coming year.
"He was concentrated and so happy with the new album that we literally completed only a short time ago," stated the vocalist in a tribute.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was all set to be such an positive time for him, and I find comfort from the knowledge that he listened to the completed album and believed that it was a masterpiece."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond described his collaborator as "an exceptionally talented creative mastermind", adding: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our body of work.
"Thank you Dave for being an immense aspect of my existence and for the songs you gave me. I wouldn't be where I am without you."
Richard Norris from The Grid, also paid tribute, recalling Ball's "constant humor" and "unwavering friendship".
"Being in a duo with someone is different from being in a group, the connection is incredibly close," he continued.
"That was the case with us. We experienced so many remarkable, incredible, memorable experiences together. Many thanks, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a one-parent family 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 his caregivers, who altered his given name from Paul to David, together with his younger sister his sister, who was similarly welcomed.
He encountered Almond at an art college in the late 70s, where they were both studying art. Inspired by a mutual passion of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and promptly produced an EP.
Musical Partnership
The duo were an unusual combination: Ball was the reserved technician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant showman, all glitter and makeup; but they achieved a unique creative synergy.
Ball had developed a interest with synthesizers after viewing the band Kraftwerk perform on a television science show Tomorrow's World, and began to marry dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.
Their signature song became the United Kingdom's second most popular song of the early 80s, shifting 21 million copies worldwide. Together with successful tracks by other artists, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it helped cleared the path 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 high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the album up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which reached at the second position in 1982.
Professional Journey
Fame had its upsides. "I loved being able to afford my initial property, having financial security and travelling, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball not long ago told with a music magazine.
But it also caused problems. "Newfound wealth allowed we could afford substances to alleviate the monotony" of press appearances and television shows, Ball explained.
"I realize that's a common saying, but it's a cliché for a good reason, because it applies for so many musicians."
During the party-filled existence, the pair were also drifting apart, but they managed to create a second classic album - the wayward, edgy and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out another album, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the group to concentrate on other projects.
Almond went on to have a prosperous solo career, including the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who combined acid house with ambient pop over a enduring collaboration.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell reunited in 2001, producing the Top 40 album Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following another break, they returned in recent years, issuing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was supposed to be a final performance at the O2 Arena on 30 September, 2018.
However, they remained active, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic restrictions.
Ball recently characterized the duo's upcoming release as a tribute to the New York club scene they visited while recording their initial records.
He noted that his time in hospital had shaped the band's sound.
"I experienced unusual memories when I was coming and going of the hospital because I was on morphine," he told a publication.
"The new songs are a digital reflection of the sounds in my head from that time.
"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences we had in the 80s."
The final mixes were finished only days before Ball passed away. It is due for release in Spring 2026.
