Dave Ball, a key member of the groundbreaking 1980s synth-pop band Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Alongside vocalist Marc Almond, the duo achieved a global success with their cover of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a seminal work of synth-pop.
He later formed the pioneering techno group The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with 1994's Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully 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 Festival in Henley-on-Thames.
Health Struggles
At that show, Ball appeared in a mobility chair, as he had for the last two years, after a period of health issues.
"I managed to injure myself significantly," he stated in 2023. "I broke lower vertebrae in my back and fractured about five ribs and fractured my wrist."
Following contracting pneumonia and suffering from sepsis, he was put in an induced coma and remained in hospital for half a year.
However, he had been in "a great place emotionally" during the warmer months, as he worked on a new album with Almond, called the upcoming Danceteria, which is set for release in the coming year.
"He was focused and so happy with the latest project that we actually finished only a few days ago," stated the singer in a tribute.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was all set to be such an positive year for him, and I find comfort from the fact that he listened to the finished record and believed that it was a masterpiece."
Tributes
Almond referred to his collaborator as "an exceptionally talented creative mastermind", stating: "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 existence and for the songs you gave me. I couldn't be where I am without you."
Richard Norris from The Grid, shared his condolences, recalling Ball's "constant humor" and "steadfast support".
"Forming a duo with someone is distinct from joining a group, the connection is very tight," he continued.
"That was the case with us. We went through so many extraordinary, incredible, memorable experiences together. Thank you, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a single-parent household in the city of Chester in 1959, Ball was given up for adoption when he was a year and a half of age.
He was raised in the seaside town with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his first name from his birth name to his adopted name, together with his younger sister his sister, who was similarly welcomed.
He met Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both learning art. Inspired by a mutual passion of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the very year, and quickly produced an extended play.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an distinctive pairing: Ball was the quiet musician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all sparkle and makeup; but they achieved a unique creative synergy.
Ball had developed a interest with synthesizers after watching Kraftwerk appear on a television program Tomorrow's World, and began to combine dark electronica to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling song of 1981, shifting millions of units globally. Alongside successful tracks by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it helped paved the path for the electronic music style of the 80s.
The song was also included on their full-length debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which spawned two further top five singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the record up with the separate release, Torch, which peaked at the second position in 1982.
Career Highlights
Success had its benefits. "I loved being able to purchase my initial property, having financial security and travelling, which might seem like a beauty queen," Ball not long ago told with a publication.
But it also presented challenges. "Newfound wealth allowed we could purchase newfound drugs to relieve the boredom" of media interviews and TV performances, Ball explained.
"I know that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a valid cause, because it applies for so many musicians."
During the party-filled existence, the duo were also growing distant, but they succeeded to produce a second memorable record - the unconventional, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released another LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group to focus on other projects.
Almond went on to have a prosperous solo career, including the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who mixed acid house with ambient pop over a long-lasting partnership.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, producing the charting album Cruelty Without Beauty.
After another hiatus, they returned in 2018, issuing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was intended to be a final performance at the O2 Arena on September 30, that year.
However, they remained together, recording their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.
Ball recently described the band's new album as a homage to the New York club scene they visited while making their first two albums.
He added that his time in hospital had shaped the band's sound.
"I had unusual memories when I was in and out of the hospital because I was on morphine," he told a publication.
"The new songs are a digital reflection of the sounds in my mind from that time.
"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences me and Marc got up to in the 1980s."
The final mixes were completed only a short time before Ball passed away. It is due for release in Spring 2026.
