Dave Ball, one half of the groundbreaking 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the team scored a global success with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record their initial full-length release is considered a seminal work of synth-pop.
He subsequently formed the innovative electronic act The Grid, who achieved chart success with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully in his rest at his home in London on October 22, only a short time after playing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in the Thames-side town.
Health Struggles
During that performance, Ball performed in a wheelchair, as he had for the last two years, following a spate of ill-health.
"I ended up damage myself quite a bit," he commented in 2023. "I broke spinal bones in my back and cracked about five ribs and fractured my arm."
Following catching a lung infection and suffering from sepsis, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and remained in hospital for half a year.
However, he had been in "a great place mentally" over the summer, as he worked on a new album with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is scheduled for release next year.
"He was concentrated and very pleased with the latest project that we literally completed only a few days ago," stated the vocalist in a tribute.
"It's so sad as next year was completely planned to be such an positive time for him, and I find comfort from the fact that he heard the finished record and believed that it was a great piece of work."
Tributes
Almond described his bandmate as "an exceptionally talented creative mastermind", stating: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our legacy.
"Thank you Dave for being an significant part of my existence and for the songs you gave me. I couldn't be where I am without you."
Richard Norris from The Grid, shared his condolences, remembering Ball's "constant humor" and "unwavering friendship".
"Being in a partnership with someone is different from joining a group, the connection is incredibly close," he continued.
"That's how it was with us. We went through so many remarkable, extraordinary, memorable moments as a team. Thank you, Dave."
Formative Years
Brought into the world into a single-parent household in Chester in the late 50s, Ball was put up for adoption when he was 18 months of age.
He grew up in the seaside town with his new family Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his given name from his birth name to his adopted name, alongside his younger sister Susan, who was similarly welcomed.
He encountered Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both learning art. Fuelled by a mutual passion of Northern Soul, they established Soft Cell the very year, and promptly produced an extended play.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an unusual combination: Ball was the quiet technician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all glitter and makeup; but they achieved a rare creative synergy.
Ball had developed a fascination with synthesizers after viewing the band Kraftwerk appear on BBC program a popular series, and started to marry moody electronic sounds to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second biggest-selling song of the early 80s, selling 21 million copies globally. Alongside hits by other artists, Human League and electronic acts, it helped paved the path for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.
The song was also included on their full-length debut, their initial LP, which spawned two additional top five singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the album up with the separate release, Torch, which peaked at the second position in 1982.
Career Highlights
Fame had its benefits. "I enjoyed being able to purchase my initial property, having money and travelling, which might seem like a beauty queen," Ball recently told with a music magazine.
But it also presented challenges. "Sudden riches meant 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 truism for a valid cause, because it applies for so many musicians."
During the hedonistic lifestyle, the pair were also growing distant, but they succeeded to produce a follow-up memorable record - the unconventional, edgy and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released one more album, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the band to focus on individual endeavors.
Almond went on to have a successful solo career, featuring the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who combined acid house with ambient pop over a long-lasting collaboration.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, producing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.
After a further break, they returned in recent years, issuing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was supposed to be a farewell show at the O2 Arena on 30 September, 2018.
However, they remained together, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.
Ball lately characterized the band's upcoming release as a homage to the New York club scene they visited while making their initial records.
He added that his time in hospital had influenced the band's sound.
"I experienced unusual memories when I was in and out of hospital because I was on morphine," he explained to a music magazine.
"The new songs are a electronic representation of the noises in my mind from that time.
"In parallel, it's about the times we had in the 1980s."
The final mixes were finished only a short time before Ball passed away. It is due for release in the spring of 2026.
