Dave Ball, a key member of the innovative 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Alongside singer 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 classic of electronic music.
He later formed the pioneering electronic act The Grid, who achieved popular acclaim with 1994's 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.
Recent Health Challenges
At that performance, Ball appeared in a mobility chair, as he had for the previous couple of years, following a spate of ill-health.
"I managed to damage myself quite a bit," he commented in 2023. "I fractured spinal bones in my back and fractured about five ribs and broke my wrist."
Following catching a lung infection and suffering from blood poisoning, he was put in an induced coma and remained in the hospital for seven months.
Nevertheless, he had been in "a great place emotionally" during the summer, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, called the upcoming Danceteria, which is set for release next year.
"He was focused and very pleased with the new album that we literally completed only a few days ago," said the singer in a heartfelt message.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was all set to be such an uplifting year for him, and I take some solace from the knowledge that he heard the completed album and believed that it was a masterpiece."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond described his bandmate as "an exceptionally talented creative mastermind", adding: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our body of work.
"Thank you Dave for being an immense aspect of my life and for the music you gave me. I wouldn't be where I am without your influence."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, shared his condolences, recalling Ball's "endless laughter" and "unwavering friendship".
"Forming a duo with someone is different from joining a band, the bond is very tight," he continued.
"That was the case with us. We experienced so many remarkable, incredible, life-affirming experiences as a team. Thank you, Dave."
Formative Years
Brought into the world into a one-parent family in the city of Chester in 1959, Ball was put up for adoption when he was a year and a half of age.
He grew up in Blackpool with adoptive parents his caregivers, who changed his given name from Paul to David, together with his sibling Susan, who was similarly welcomed.
He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both learning art. Inspired by a mutual passion of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the very year, and promptly recorded an EP.
Creative Collaboration
The pair were an distinctive combination: Ball was the reserved musician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all glitter and makeup; but they achieved a unique creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with synthesizers after viewing Kraftwerk appear on BBC science show a popular series, and started to marry dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling song of 1981, shifting 21 million units worldwide. Together with successful tracks by Gary Numan, Human League and electronic acts, it helped cleared the path for the electronic music style of the 80s.
The track was also featured on their full-length debut, their initial LP, which produced two additional high-charting hits: 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.
Professional Journey
Fame had its upsides. "I loved being able to purchase my first home, having money and travelling, which might seem like a beauty queen," Ball not long ago told with a music magazine.
But it also presented problems. "Newfound wealth meant we could purchase substances to relieve the monotony" of press appearances and television shows, Ball said.
"I know that's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a valid cause, because it works for so many musicians."
Amidst the party-filled existence, the duo were also drifting apart, but they succeeded to produce a follow-up memorable record - the wayward, edgy and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released one more album, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the group to focus on other projects.
Almond went on to have a successful individual path, including the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who mixed dance music with ambient pop over a enduring collaboration.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, producing the charting record Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following a further hiatus, they reappeared in recent years, issuing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was supposed to be a final performance at the O2 Arena on 30 September, that year.
Yet, they remained together, recording their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.
Ball recently characterized the duo's upcoming release as a tribute to the NYC nightlife they visited while making their initial records.
He noted that his period in medical care had influenced the group's music.
"I experienced unusual memories when I was coming and going of the hospital because I was on morphine," he explained to a music magazine.
"Our latest tracks are a digital reflection of the noises in my mind from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the times me and Marc had in the 1980s."
The last versions were finished only a short time before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for release in Spring 2026.
