Dave Ball, one half of the innovative 1980s synth-pop duo Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Alongside vocalist Marc Almond, the duo achieved a worldwide hit with their version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a classic of synth-pop.
He subsequently founded the pioneering techno group The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his sleep at his home in London on October 22, just weeks after playing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in Henley-on-Thames.
Health Struggles
At that performance, Ball performed in a mobility chair, as he had for the previous couple of years, following a spate of health issues.
"I ended up injure myself quite a bit," he commented in 2023. "I broke spinal bones in my spine and fractured about five ribs and broke my wrist."
After catching a lung infection and developing blood poisoning, he was placed in an induced coma and stayed in the hospital for seven months.
However, he had been in "high spirits emotionally" during the summer, as he was developing a new album with Almond, called Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication in the coming year.
"He was concentrated and very pleased with the latest project that we literally completed only a few days ago," said the singer in a tribute.
"It's so sad as next year was completely planned to be such an positive year for him, and I find comfort from the fact that he listened to the finished record and felt that it was a masterpiece."
Tributes
Almond described his bandmate as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", adding: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our body of work.
"Many thanks Dave for being an significant part of my life and for the music 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 partnership with someone is different from being in a band, the connection is incredibly close," he added.
"That was the case with us. We went through so many extraordinary, extraordinary, memorable moments together. Many thanks, Dave."
Formative Years
Brought into the world into a one-parent family in the city of Chester in the late 50s, Ball was given up for adoption when he was a year and a half of age.
He was raised in the seaside town with his new family Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his first name from Paul to David, alongside his sibling his sister, who was also adopted.
He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both studying fine arts. Inspired by a shared love of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the very year, and promptly recorded an EP.
Musical Partnership
The duo were an distinctive pairing: Ball was the quiet musician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they attained a unique creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with electronic instruments after viewing Kraftwerk appear on BBC program Tomorrow's World, and began to marry moody electronic sounds to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.
Their signature song became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling single of the early 80s, shifting millions of copies globally. Together with successful tracks by other artists, Human League and Ultravox, it helped cleared the way for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The track was also featured on their full-length debut, their initial LP, which spawned two further high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the album up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which reached at the second position in 1982.
Professional Journey
Success had its upsides. "I enjoyed being able to purchase my first home, having financial security and exploring, which makes me sound like a Miss World," Ball recently shared with a music magazine.
But it also caused problems. "Newfound wealth meant we could afford substances to alleviate the boredom" of media interviews and television shows, Ball explained.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a good reason, because it applies for so many musicians."
Amidst the party-filled existence, the pair were also growing distant, but they succeeded to create a follow-up memorable record - the wayward, edgy and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released one more LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group to concentrate on other projects.
Almond went on to have a successful individual path, featuring the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who mixed dance music with ambient pop over a enduring partnership.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell came back together in 2001, producing the charting record Cruelty Without Beauty.
After another break, they reappeared in recent years, issuing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was supposed to be a farewell show at the O2 Arena on September 30, that year.
However, they remained active, recording their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.
Ball lately described the band's new album as a tribute to the NYC nightlife they frequented while recording their first two albums.
He added that his period in hospital had influenced the group's music.
"I had strange recollections when I was coming and going of the hospital because I was on morphine," he told a music magazine.
"Our latest tracks are a electronic representation of the noises in my mind from that time.
"Simultaneously, it's about the times we had in the 1980s."
The final mixes were completed only a short time before Ball died. It is scheduled for release in Spring 2026.
