Dave Ball, a key member of the pioneering 1980s synth-pop band Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Together with vocalist Marc Almond, the team scored a worldwide hit with their version of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in 1984, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a seminal work of synth-pop.
He later founded the pioneering techno group The Grid, who achieved popular acclaim with their 1994 single Swamp Thing.
Ball died peacefully in his rest at his residence 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.
Recent Health Challenges
During that show, Ball performed in a wheelchair, as he had for the previous couple of years, following a spate of health issues.
"I managed to injure myself significantly," he stated in 2023. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my back and cracked about multiple ribs and fractured my wrist."
After contracting a lung infection and suffering from sepsis, he was placed in an medically-induced sleep and remained in the hospital for seven months.
However, he had been in "a great place mentally" over the summer, as he was developing a fresh record with Almond, titled the upcoming Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication next year.
"He was concentrated and so happy with the new album that we literally finished only a few days ago," said the singer in a tribute.
"It's so sad as next year was all set to be such an uplifting year for him, and I find comfort from the knowledge that he listened to the completed album and felt that it was a masterpiece."
Tributes
Almond described his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant musical genius", stating: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our body of work.
"Many thanks Dave for being an significant aspect of my life and for the songs you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without you."
Richard Norris from The Grid, also paid tribute, remembering Ball's "endless laughter" and "unwavering friendship".
"Being in a duo with someone is different from being in a group, the bond is very tight," he added.
"That's how it was with us. We experienced so many extraordinary, incredible, memorable moments together. Many thanks, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a single-parent household in Chester in 1959, Ball was put up for adoption when he was a year and a half old.
He grew up in Blackpool with adoptive parents his caregivers, who changed his first name from Paul to David, together with his younger sister his sister, 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 Northern Soul, they formed Soft Cell the very year, and quickly recorded an EP.
Creative Collaboration
The pair were an distinctive pairing: Ball was the quiet musician, hunched over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all glitter and eye-liner; but they achieved a rare musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with synthesizers after watching Kraftwerk perform on BBC science show Tomorrow's World, and began to combine moody electronic sounds to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.
Their signature song became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling song of 1981, selling 21 million units globally. Alongside successful tracks by Gary Numan, Human League and Ultravox, it contributed to cleared the path for the synth-pop sound of the 80s.
The track was also featured on their full-length debut, their initial LP, which spawned two additional top five hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the record up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which reached at number two in the following year.
Career Highlights
Fame had its upsides. "I enjoyed being able to afford my initial property, having financial security and travelling, which might seem like a beauty queen," Ball not long ago told with a music magazine.
But it also caused challenges. "Sudden riches meant we could purchase newfound drugs to alleviate the boredom" of media interviews and television shows, Ball said.
"I realize 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 growing distant, but they managed to produce a follow-up classic album - the unconventional, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released another album, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group to focus on individual endeavors.
Almond proceeded to have a successful individual path, 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 reunited in 2001, producing the Top 40 album Cruelty Without Beauty.
After a further break, they reappeared in 2018, releasing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was intended to be a farewell show at the large venue on 30 September, 2018.
However, they stayed active, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.
Ball recently characterized the band's new album as a tribute to the NYC nightlife they visited while recording their first two albums.
He added that his time in medical care had influenced the group's music.
"I had unusual memories when I was in and out of hospital because I was on pain medication," he told a publication.
"The new songs are a digital reflection of the sounds in my head from those days.
"In parallel, it's about the experiences me and Marc got up to in the 1980s."
The last versions were finished only a short time before Ball passed away. It is due for launch in Spring 2026.
