Dave Ball, a key member of the groundbreaking 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Together with vocalist Marc Almond, the team scored a global success with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a classic of electronic music.
He later founded the innovative techno group The Grid, who achieved chart success with 1994's Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his rest at his residence in London on October 22, just weeks after playing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in the Thames-side town.
Recent Health Challenges
During that performance, Ball appeared in a wheelchair, as he had for the last two years, following a spate of health issues.
"I managed to injure myself significantly," he stated in 2023. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my spine and fractured about five ribs and broke my wrist."
Following catching pneumonia and developing sepsis, he was put in an induced coma and remained in hospital for seven months.
Nevertheless, he had been in "high spirits mentally" during the warmer months, as he was developing a fresh record with Almond, titled the upcoming Danceteria, which is set for release next year.
"He was focused and so happy with the latest project that we literally completed only a short time ago," stated the singer in a heartfelt message.
"It's so sad as next year was all set to be such an uplifting time for him, and I take some solace from the knowledge that he listened to the finished record and felt that it was a great piece of work."
Tributes
Almond referred to his bandmate as "an exceptionally talented musical genius", stating: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our legacy.
"Thank you Dave for being an immense aspect of my life and for the songs you gave me. I couldn't be where I am without you."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, shared his condolences, remembering Ball's "constant humor" and "unwavering friendship".
"Being in a duo with someone is different from joining a group, the connection is incredibly close," he continued.
"That was the case with us. We went through so many remarkable, extraordinary, memorable 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 changed his first name from his birth name to his adopted name, together with his sibling Susan, who was similarly welcomed.
He encountered Almond at an art college in the late 70s, where they were both studying fine arts. Fuelled by a shared love of Northern Soul, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and quickly recorded an EP.
Creative Collaboration
The pair were an unusual pairing: Ball was the quiet technician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic showman, all glitter and makeup; but they achieved a rare creative synergy.
Ball had developed a fascination with synthesizers after viewing Kraftwerk appear on BBC program a popular series, and started to combine moody electronic sounds to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second biggest-selling single of the early 80s, selling 21 million copies worldwide. Alongside hits by other artists, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it contributed to paved the path for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.
The song was also featured on their first album, their initial LP, which spawned two further high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the record up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at the second position in the following year.
Career Highlights
Fame had its benefits. "I loved being able to afford my first home, having financial security and travelling, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball not long ago told with a publication.
But it also caused problems. "Sudden riches allowed we could purchase substances to alleviate the monotony" of press appearances and TV performances, Ball explained.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a valid cause, because it works for so many bands."
During the hedonistic lifestyle, the pair were also growing distant, but they managed to produce a follow-up classic album - the unconventional, edgy and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out one more 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 chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who mixed dance music with ambient pop over a long-lasting collaboration.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell came back together in 2001, releasing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following a further break, they returned in recent years, issuing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was intended to be a farewell show at the O2 Arena on 30 September, 2018.
Yet, they stayed active, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.
Ball recently characterized the duo's new album as a tribute to the New York club scene they visited while making their initial records.
He added that his period in medical care had influenced the band's sound.
"I had strange recollections when I was in and out of the hospital because I was on pain medication," he told a publication.
"Our latest tracks are a digital reflection of the sounds in my mind from that time.
"In parallel, it's about the experiences we got up to in the 1980s."
The final mixes were completed only a short time before Ball died. It is scheduled for launch in Spring 2026.
