Dave Ball, a key member of the pioneering 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Alongside vocalist Marc Almond, the duo achieved a global success with their version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in 1984, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a classic of synth-pop.
He subsequently founded the pioneering electronic act The Grid, who achieved popular acclaim with 1994's Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his rest at his residence in London on October 22, just weeks after playing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in Henley-on-Thames.
Health Struggles
At that performance, Ball appeared in a mobility chair, as he had for the last two years, after a period of ill-health.
"I ended up injure myself quite a bit," he stated in 2023. "I fractured spinal bones in my spine and cracked about five ribs and broke my wrist."
After catching pneumonia and suffering from sepsis, he was placed in an medically-induced sleep and remained in hospital for seven months.
However, he had been in "a great place emotionally" during the summer, as he was developing a fresh record with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is scheduled for release in the coming year.
"He was focused and so happy with the latest project that we actually completed only a short time ago," said the singer in a heartfelt message.
"It's so sad as next year was all set to be such an positive time for him, and I take some solace from the fact that he listened to the finished record and felt that it was a great piece of work."
Tributes
Almond referred to his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant musical genius", 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 immense part of my existence and for the music you created with me. I wouldn't be where I am without your influence."
Richard Norris from The Grid, also paid tribute, remembering Ball's "endless laughter" and "steadfast support".
"Being in a partnership with someone is different from being in a group, the bond is incredibly close," he added.
"That's how it was with us. We went through so many remarkable, incredible, memorable moments as a team. Thank you, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a single-parent household in the city of Chester in the late 50s, Ball was put up for adoption when he was 18 months old.
He grew up in Blackpool with adoptive parents his caregivers, who changed his first name from his birth name to his adopted name, 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 fine arts. Inspired by a shared love of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the very year, and quickly recorded an EP.
Musical Partnership
The duo were an distinctive combination: Ball was the quiet technician, hunched over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all sparkle and makeup; but they attained a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with electronic instruments after viewing the band Kraftwerk appear on a television science show Tomorrow's World, and started to marry moody electronic sounds to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.
Their signature song became the UK's second biggest-selling song of the early 80s, selling 21 million copies globally. Alongside successful tracks by other artists, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it contributed to cleared the path for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.
The track was also featured on their full-length debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which produced 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.
Professional Journey
Fame had its upsides. "I loved being able to afford my first home, 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. "Sudden riches meant we could purchase newfound drugs to relieve the monotony" of press appearances and TV performances, Ball explained.
"I know that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a valid cause, because it works for so many bands."
During the party-filled existence, the pair were also growing distant, but they succeeded to produce a follow-up classic album - the wayward, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out one more LP, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band to concentrate on other projects.
Almond went on to have a prosperous 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 long-lasting partnership.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell came back together in the early 2000s, producing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.
After a further break, they returned 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 large venue on 30 September, that year.
Yet, they stayed together, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.
Ball recently described the duo's new album as a tribute to the New York club scene they frequented while recording their first two albums.
He noted that his period in hospital had shaped the band's sound.
"I had strange recollections when I was in and out of hospital because I was on morphine," he told a publication.
"Our latest tracks are a digital reflection of the noises in my head from that time.
"In parallel, it's about the experiences we had in the 80s."
The final mixes were finished only days before Ball died. It is due for release in the spring of 2026.
