Dave Ball, one half of the groundbreaking 1980s synth-pop duo Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Together with vocalist Marc Almond, the pair achieved a worldwide hit with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record their initial full-length release is regarded as a seminal work of electronic music.
He later founded the innovative techno group The Grid, who secured chart success with their 1994 single Swamp Thing.
Ball died calmly in his sleep at his home in London on Wednesday 22 October, just weeks after performing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in the Thames-side town.
Recent Health Challenges
During that show, Ball appeared in a wheelchair, as he had for the last two years, following a period of ill-health.
"I ended up injure myself significantly," he commented in a recent interview. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my back and cracked about multiple ribs and broke my wrist."
After catching a lung infection and suffering from blood poisoning, he was placed in an medically-induced sleep and remained in hospital for seven months.
Nevertheless, he had been in "high spirits mentally" over the summer, as he worked on a new album with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is set for publication in the coming year.
"He was concentrated and so happy with the new album that we actually completed only a few days ago," stated the vocalist in a heartfelt message.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was all set to be such an positive year for him, and I find comfort from the knowledge that he heard the finished record and believed that it was a great piece of work."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond described his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant 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 life and for the songs you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without you."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, also paid tribute, remembering Ball's "constant humor" and "steadfast support".
"Forming a partnership with someone is different from being in a band, the connection is incredibly close," he added.
"That's how it was with us. We went through so many extraordinary, incredible, memorable experiences together. Many thanks, Dave."
Early Life
Born into a single-parent household in Chester in the late 50s, Ball was given up for adoption when he was a year and a half of age.
He grew up in the seaside town with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his given name from Paul to David, together with his younger sister Susan, who was also adopted.
He encountered Almond at an art college in the late 70s, where they were both learning art. Inspired by a mutual passion of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and promptly recorded an EP.
Creative Collaboration
The duo were an unusual pairing: Ball was the quiet musician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all sparkle and makeup; but they achieved a unique creative synergy.
Ball had developed a fascination with synthesizers after viewing Kraftwerk perform on BBC program a popular series, and started to marry moody electronic sounds to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.
Their signature song became the UK's second biggest-selling single of 1981, shifting millions of units globally. Together with hits by other artists, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it helped paved the way for the synth-pop sound of the 80s.
The song was also included on their first album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which produced two additional top five hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the record up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at the second position in 1982.
Career Highlights
Success had its benefits. "I loved being able to purchase my first home, having money and travelling, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball recently told with a publication.
But it also presented problems. "Newfound wealth meant we could afford substances to relieve the boredom" of media interviews and TV performances, Ball explained.
"I realize that's a common saying, but it's a cliché for a valid cause, because it works for so many bands."
Amidst the hedonistic lifestyle, the pair were also growing distant, but they managed to create a second classic album - the wayward, edgy and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out one more LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the band to concentrate on other projects.
Almond went on to have a prosperous individual path, featuring 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 enduring partnership.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, releasing the Top 40 album Cruelty Without Beauty.
After another break, they reappeared in 2018, releasing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was supposed to be a farewell show at the large venue on 30 September, that year.
However, they remained active, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.
Ball recently described the duo's new album as a homage to the New York club scene they frequented while recording their initial records.
He added that his period in hospital had influenced the band's sound.
"I experienced unusual memories when I was coming and going of hospital because I was on morphine," he explained to a publication.
"The new songs are a electronic representation of the sounds in my head from those days.
"In parallel, it's about the experiences we had in the 80s."
The last versions were finished only days before Ball died. It is scheduled for release in the spring of 2026.
