Dave Ball, a key member of the innovative 1980s synth-pop band Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Together with singer 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 considered a seminal work of electronic music.
He later founded the innovative electronic act The Grid, who achieved popular acclaim with 1994's Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully in his sleep at his residence in London on Wednesday 22 October, just weeks after performing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in the Thames-side town.
Health Struggles
During that show, Ball performed in a mobility chair, as he had for the previous couple of years, after a period of ill-health.
"I managed to damage myself quite a bit," he commented in a recent interview. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my spine and fractured about multiple ribs and fractured my arm."
After catching pneumonia and suffering from sepsis, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and stayed in the hospital for seven months.
Nevertheless, he had been in "a great place emotionally" during the warmer months, as he was developing a new album with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is scheduled for release next year.
"He was concentrated and so happy with the new album that we actually completed only a few days ago," stated the singer in a tribute.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was all set to be such an positive time for him, and I take some solace from the knowledge that he listened to the completed album and felt that it was a masterpiece."
Tributes
Almond referred to his collaborator as "an exceptionally talented musical genius", 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 immense aspect of my existence and for the music you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without you."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, shared his condolences, remembering Ball's "endless laughter" and "unwavering friendship".
"Forming a duo with someone is distinct from joining a band, the bond is incredibly close," he added.
"That was the case with us. We experienced so many remarkable, extraordinary, memorable moments together. Many thanks, Dave."
Formative Years
Born into a one-parent family in the city of Chester in the late 50s, Ball was put up for adoption when he was 18 months of age.
He was raised in Blackpool with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who altered his given name from his birth name to his adopted name, together with his younger sister Susan, who was also adopted.
He met Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both learning fine arts. Inspired by a mutual passion of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the very year, and promptly recorded an extended play.
Musical Partnership
The duo were an distinctive combination: Ball was the quiet technician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all glitter and eye-liner; but they achieved a rare musical alchemy.
Ball had developed a fascination with electronic instruments after watching Kraftwerk appear on a television science show Tomorrow's World, and began to combine dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.
Their signature song became the UK's second biggest-selling single of 1981, selling 21 million copies worldwide. Alongside successful tracks by other artists, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it contributed to paved the way for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The song was also included on their full-length debut, their initial LP, which spawned two further high-charting hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the album up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which peaked at the second position in 1982.
Professional Journey
Success had its upsides. "I loved being able to purchase my first home, having financial security and exploring, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball recently told with a publication.
But it also presented challenges. "Newfound wealth meant we could afford substances to alleviate the monotony" of press appearances and television shows, Ball explained.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a valid cause, because it applies for so many musicians."
During the party-filled existence, the pair were also growing distant, but they managed to create a follow-up memorable record - the wayward, edgy and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out another album, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group to concentrate on individual endeavors.
Almond went on to have a prosperous individual path, featuring the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who mixed dance music with ambient pop over a enduring partnership.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, releasing the charting record Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following another hiatus, they reappeared in 2018, issuing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was supposed to be a final performance at the large venue on September 30, 2018.
Yet, they stayed together, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.
Ball recently described the band's upcoming release as a tribute to the New York club scene they visited while recording their initial records.
He added 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 music magazine.
"The new songs are a digital reflection of the sounds in my mind from those days.
"In parallel, it's about the times me and Marc had in the 80s."
The last versions were finished only a short time before Ball passed away. It is due for launch in the spring of 2026.
