Dave Ball, a key member of the groundbreaking 1980s synth-pop band Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Together with vocalist Marc Almond, the team achieved a worldwide hit with their version of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record their initial full-length release is regarded as a classic of synth-pop.
He subsequently founded the innovative techno group The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with 1994's Swamp Thing.
Ball died peacefully in his sleep at his residence in London on October 22, just weeks after playing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in the Thames-side town.
Recent Health Challenges
During that show, Ball performed in a mobility chair, as he had for the previous couple of years, following a period of ill-health.
"I ended up injure myself significantly," he stated in a recent interview. "I broke lower vertebrae in my back and cracked about five ribs and fractured my arm."
After catching pneumonia and developing sepsis, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and remained in the hospital for seven months.
However, he had been in "a great place emotionally" over the summer, as he was developing a fresh record with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is set for publication next year.
"He was focused and very pleased with the latest project that we actually finished only a few days ago," stated the vocalist in a tribute.
"It's so sad as next year was all set to be such an positive 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 "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", adding: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our body of work.
"Thank you Dave for being an significant aspect of my existence and for the songs you created with me. I wouldn't be where I am without you."
Richard Norris from The Grid, shared his condolences, recalling Ball's "endless laughter" and "steadfast support".
"Being in a partnership with someone is different from joining a group, the connection is incredibly close," he added.
"That was the case with us. We experienced so many remarkable, incredible, life-affirming moments as a team. Thank you, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a single-parent household in Chester in 1959, Ball was given up for adoption when he was a year and a half old.
He grew up in the seaside town with his new family Donald and Brenda Ball, who altered his first name from his birth name to David, together with his younger sister Susan, who was also adopted.
He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in the late 70s, where they were both learning art. Inspired by a mutual passion of Northern Soul, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and quickly produced an EP.
Musical Partnership
The duo were an unusual pairing: Ball was the reserved musician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic showman, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they achieved a rare creative synergy.
Ball had developed a interest with electronic instruments after watching the band Kraftwerk perform on BBC science show a popular series, and started to marry moody electronic sounds to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second most popular single of the early 80s, shifting millions of units worldwide. Together with successful tracks by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it helped cleared the path for the electronic music style of the 80s.
The song was also included on their first album, their initial LP, which spawned two further high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the album up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which peaked at the second position in 1982.
Professional Journey
Success had its benefits. "I loved being able to afford my initial property, having money and exploring, which might seem like a beauty queen," Ball not long ago told with a music magazine.
But it also caused problems. "Newfound wealth allowed we could afford newfound drugs to alleviate the boredom" of media interviews and TV performances, Ball said.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a valid cause, because it applies for so many bands."
Amidst the party-filled existence, the pair were also growing distant, but they managed to create a second memorable record - the wayward, edgy and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released another album, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the band to focus on other projects.
Almond went on 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 combined dance music with ambient pop over a enduring collaboration.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell came back together in 2001, releasing the charting album Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following another break, they returned in recent years, issuing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was supposed to be a farewell show at the O2 Arena on 30 September, that year.
However, they remained together, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.
Ball lately described the duo's new album as a tribute to the NYC nightlife they visited while making their first two albums.
He noted that his time in medical care had shaped the band's sound.
"I experienced strange recollections when I was coming and going of hospital because I was on pain medication," he told a music magazine.
"Our latest tracks are a digital reflection of the sounds in my head from those days.
"In parallel, it's about the times we got up to in the 80s."
The final mixes were finished only days before Ball died. It is due for launch in Spring 2026.
