Dave Ball, one half of the innovative 1980s synth-pop band Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Alongside vocalist Marc Almond, the team achieved a worldwide hit with their version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record their initial full-length release is regarded as a seminal work of electronic music.
He later founded the pioneering electronic act The Grid, who secured chart success with their 1994 single the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully in his sleep at his residence in London on Wednesday 22 October, just weeks after playing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in Henley-on-Thames.
Recent Health Challenges
At that show, Ball performed in a mobility chair, as he had for the last two years, following a spate of ill-health.
"I ended up injure myself quite a bit," he stated in a recent interview. "I fractured spinal bones in my back and fractured about multiple ribs and broke my arm."
Following catching a lung infection and developing blood poisoning, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and remained in hospital for half a year.
However, he had been in "high spirits emotionally" during the warmer months, as he was developing a new album with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication in the coming year.
"He was focused and very pleased with the new album that we actually completed only a short time ago," said the vocalist in a heartfelt message.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was all set to be such an positive time for him, and I find comfort from the knowledge that he listened to the completed album and felt that it was a great piece of work."
Tributes
Almond referred to his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", stating: "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 immense part of my life and for the songs you gave me. I couldn't be where I am without you."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, also paid tribute, remembering Ball's "endless laughter" and "unwavering friendship".
"Forming a partnership with someone is different from being in a group, the connection is very tight," he added.
"That was the case with us. We experienced so many remarkable, extraordinary, life-affirming moments together. Thank you, Dave."
Early Life
Born into a single-parent household in Chester in 1959, Ball was put up for adoption when he was a year and a half old.
He was raised in Blackpool with his new family Donald and Brenda Ball, who altered his given name from Paul to his adopted name, alongside his younger sister his sister, who was also adopted.
He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in the late 70s, where they were both studying fine arts. Fuelled by a mutual passion of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the very year, and quickly produced an EP.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an distinctive pairing: Ball was the reserved musician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all glitter and makeup; but they attained a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had developed a fascination with synthesizers after watching Kraftwerk appear on BBC science show Tomorrow's World, and began to combine dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second most popular song of the early 80s, selling 21 million copies worldwide. Together with hits by Gary Numan, Human League and Ultravox, it contributed to cleared the way for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.
The song was also included on their full-length debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which spawned two additional top five singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the album up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at the second position in the following year.
Professional Journey
Success had its upsides. "I enjoyed being able to afford my first home, having money and travelling, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball recently shared with a publication.
But it also caused challenges. "Newfound wealth meant we could afford substances to alleviate the monotony" of press appearances and television shows, Ball said.
"I realize that's a common saying, but it's a truism for a good reason, because it applies for so many bands."
Amidst the party-filled existence, the pair were also growing distant, but they succeeded to create a second classic album - the wayward, edgy and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out one more LP, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the band to focus on other projects.
Almond went on to have a prosperous individual path, including the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who mixed dance music with melodic sounds over a enduring collaboration.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell reunited in 2001, releasing the Top 40 album Cruelty Without Beauty.
After a further hiatus, 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 large venue on September 30, that year.
However, they stayed active, 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 NYC nightlife they frequented while recording their initial records.
He noted that his time in hospital had influenced the band's sound.
"I experienced unusual memories when I was in and out of the hospital because I was on morphine," he explained to a music magazine.
"The new songs are a digital reflection of the noises in my head from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences we got up to in the 1980s."
The final mixes were finished only a short time before Ball died. It is due for launch in the spring of 2026.
