Dave Ball, a key member of the groundbreaking 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Together with singer Marc Almond, the pair scored a global success with their cover of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in 1984, and their first record their initial full-length release is regarded as a classic of electronic music.
He subsequently formed the innovative electronic act The Grid, who secured chart success with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his rest at his home in London on Wednesday 22 October, only a short time after playing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in Henley-on-Thames.
Health Struggles
During that show, Ball performed in a mobility chair, as he had for the previous couple of years, after a spate of ill-health.
"I managed to damage myself quite a bit," he stated in a recent interview. "I broke spinal bones in my back and cracked about multiple ribs and fractured my arm."
After catching a lung infection and suffering from blood poisoning, he was put in an induced coma and stayed in hospital for seven months.
Nevertheless, he had been in "a great place mentally" over the summer, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is scheduled for release next year.
"He was concentrated and very pleased with the latest project that we actually finished only a few days ago," said the singer in a tribute.
"It's so sad as next year was completely planned to be such an positive time for him, and I take some solace from the fact that he heard the finished record and believed that it was a great piece of work."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond referred to his bandmate as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", adding: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our legacy.
"Thank you Dave for being an immense part of my life and for the songs you gave me. I couldn't be where I am without your influence."
Richard Norris from The Grid, shared his condolences, remembering Ball's "endless laughter" and "steadfast support".
"Forming a duo with someone is different from being in a group, the bond is very tight," he continued.
"That's how it was with us. We experienced so many remarkable, extraordinary, life-affirming moments as a team. Many thanks, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a one-parent family in the city of Chester in the late 50s, Ball was put up for adoption when he was a year and a half old.
He was raised in the seaside town with adoptive parents his caregivers, who altered his first name from his birth name to his adopted name, together with his younger sister his sister, who was also adopted.
He met Almond at an art college in the late 70s, where they were both learning art. Fuelled by a mutual passion of Northern Soul, they established Soft Cell the same year, and promptly produced an EP.
Creative Collaboration
The duo were an unusual pairing: Ball was the reserved technician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a charismatic showman, all glitter and makeup; but they attained a unique creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with electronic instruments after viewing the band Kraftwerk appear on a television program Tomorrow's World, and started to combine moody electronic sounds to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.
Their signature song became the UK's second most popular single of 1981, shifting millions of units globally. Alongside successful tracks by other artists, Human League and electronic acts, it helped cleared the way for the electronic music style of the 80s.
The song was also included on their first album, their initial LP, which produced two further top five hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the album up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which peaked at the second position in 1982.
Professional Journey
Fame had its upsides. "I loved being able to afford my initial property, having money and travelling, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball recently shared with a music magazine.
But it also caused challenges. "Sudden riches meant we could afford newfound drugs to relieve the boredom" of press appearances and television shows, Ball said.
"I realize that's a common saying, but it's a cliché for a valid cause, because it applies for so many musicians."
Amidst the party-filled existence, the pair were also drifting apart, but they managed to produce a follow-up classic album - the wayward, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released one more album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the band to focus on other projects.
Almond proceeded 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 mixed acid house with melodic sounds over a long-lasting partnership.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell reunited in 2001, producing the charting record Cruelty Without Beauty.
After another hiatus, they returned in recent years, releasing 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 30 September, that year.
Yet, they stayed together, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.
Ball recently described the duo's upcoming release as a tribute to the New York club scene they frequented while recording their initial records.
He added that his period in hospital had influenced the group's music.
"I experienced strange recollections when I was coming and going of the hospital because I was on pain medication," he explained to a music magazine.
"The new songs are a electronic representation of the sounds in my head from that time.
"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences me and Marc got up to in the 80s."
The final mixes were completed only a short time before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for launch in Spring 2026.
