Dave Ball, a key member of the innovative 1980s synth-pop band Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Alongside vocalist Marc Almond, the team scored a global success with their version of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in 1984, and their debut album their initial full-length release is considered a classic of synth-pop.
He later formed the innovative electronic act The Grid, who secured chart success with their 1994 single Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his sleep at his home in London on Wednesday 22 October, just weeks after playing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in the Thames-side town.
Health Struggles
At that performance, Ball appeared in a wheelchair, as he had for the last two years, following a spate of ill-health.
"I managed to injure myself quite a bit," he commented in 2023. "I broke lower vertebrae in my spine and cracked about multiple ribs and broke my wrist."
After contracting pneumonia and developing blood poisoning, he was placed in an induced coma and remained in hospital for seven months.
However, he had been in "a great place mentally" over the summer, as he was developing a new album with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is set for publication next year.
"He was focused and very pleased with the latest project that we actually completed only a few days ago," said the vocalist in a heartfelt message.
"It's so sad as next year was all set to be such an positive year for him, and I find comfort from the knowledge that he heard the completed album and felt that it was a masterpiece."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond referred to his bandmate as "a wonderfully brilliant musical genius", adding: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our legacy.
"Thank you Dave for being an immense aspect of my life and for the songs you gave me. I wouldn'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 partnership with someone is different from joining a group, the bond is incredibly close," he continued.
"That was the case with us. We experienced so many extraordinary, extraordinary, life-affirming moments together. Many thanks, Dave."
Formative Years
Brought into the world into a single-parent household in the city of Chester in 1959, Ball was given up for adoption when he was a year and a half of age.
He grew up in Blackpool with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who altered his first name from Paul to David, together with his sibling his sister, who was also adopted.
He met Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in the late 70s, where they were both studying fine arts. Fuelled by a shared love of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the very year, and promptly produced an extended play.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an unusual combination: Ball was the reserved technician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant showman, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they achieved a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had developed a fascination with synthesizers after watching the band Kraftwerk appear on BBC program a popular series, and began to combine moody electronic sounds 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 globally. Alongside hits by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it helped cleared the way for the synth-pop sound of the 80s.
The song was also included on their full-length debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which produced two further high-charting hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the record up with the separate release, Torch, which peaked at number two in 1982.
Professional Journey
Fame had its benefits. "I loved being able to afford my initial property, having money and travelling, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball not long ago told with a music magazine.
But it also presented challenges. "Newfound wealth allowed we could purchase substances to relieve the monotony" of media interviews and TV performances, Ball explained.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a good reason, because it works for so many bands."
Amidst the hedonistic lifestyle, the pair were also growing distant, but they succeeded to create a second memorable record - the wayward, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out one more LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band to concentrate on individual endeavors.
Almond went on to have a successful individual path, featuring 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 long-lasting collaboration.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, releasing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.
After a further hiatus, they returned in 2018, releasing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was intended to be a farewell show at the large venue on September 30, 2018.
However, they remained active, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.
Ball recently described the duo's upcoming release as a tribute to the New York club scene they frequented while making their initial records.
He noted that his period in hospital had influenced the group's music.
"I experienced unusual memories when I was in and out of hospital because I was on pain medication," he explained to a music magazine.
"The new songs are a digital reflection of the sounds in my head from those days.
"In parallel, it's about the times we had in the 80s."
The final mixes were completed only days before Ball passed away. It is due for launch in Spring 2026.
