Dave Ball, one half of the innovative 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Together with vocalist Marc Almond, the duo scored a global success with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record their initial full-length release is regarded as a classic of electronic music.
He later founded the innovative techno group The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with 1994's Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his sleep at his residence in London on October 22, only a short time after playing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in the Thames-side town.
Health Struggles
At that show, Ball appeared in a mobility chair, as he had for the last two years, following a period of ill-health.
"I ended up injure myself quite a bit," he stated in 2023. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my back and cracked about multiple ribs and fractured my arm."
Following catching pneumonia and suffering from sepsis, he was placed in an induced coma and remained in hospital for half a year.
However, he had been in "a great place emotionally" over the summer, as he was developing a new album with Almond, called the upcoming Danceteria, which is set for publication next year.
"He was concentrated and very pleased with the new album that we actually completed only a short time ago," stated the vocalist in a heartfelt message.
"It's so sad as next year was all set to be such an uplifting time for him, and I take some solace from the fact that he heard the finished record and believed that it was a masterpiece."
Tributes
Almond referred to 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 legacy.
"Thank you Dave for being an immense aspect of my existence and for the songs you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without your influence."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, also paid tribute, remembering Ball's "endless laughter" and "steadfast support".
"Being in a duo with someone is different from joining a band, the connection is very tight," he added.
"That was the case with us. We experienced so many extraordinary, extraordinary, memorable experiences together. Thank you, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a one-parent family in the city of Chester in 1959, Ball was put 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 given name from Paul to David, together with his younger sister his sister, who was also adopted.
He met Almond at an art college in the late 70s, where they were both studying art. Fuelled by a shared love of Northern Soul, they established Soft Cell the same year, and promptly produced an EP.
Musical Partnership
The duo were an distinctive pairing: Ball was the quiet musician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all glitter and makeup; but they attained a unique creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with electronic instruments after watching the band Kraftwerk perform on BBC science show Tomorrow's World, and started to combine dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling single of 1981, shifting 21 million units worldwide. Together with hits by other artists, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it helped cleared the way 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 continued the record up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which peaked at the second position in 1982.
Career Highlights
Fame had its upsides. "I enjoyed being able to purchase my first home, having financial security and travelling, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball not long ago shared with a publication.
But it also caused challenges. "Sudden riches allowed we could afford newfound drugs to alleviate the boredom" of media interviews and television shows, Ball said.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a valid cause, because it works for so many musicians."
During the hedonistic lifestyle, the duo were also growing distant, but they succeeded to produce a second memorable record - the wayward, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released another LP, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the group 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 acid house with ambient pop over a long-lasting partnership.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, releasing the charting record Cruelty Without Beauty.
After a further hiatus, they reappeared in 2018, releasing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was intended to be a farewell show at the large venue on September 30, 2018.
However, they remained together, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic restrictions.
Ball recently described the band's upcoming release as a homage to the NYC nightlife they frequented while recording their initial records.
He added that his period in medical care had influenced the band's sound.
"I experienced 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 electronic representation of the sounds in my head from that time.
"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences we got up to in the 1980s."
The final mixes were finished only a short time before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for release in the spring of 2026.
