Dave Ball, one half of the innovative 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the duo scored a global success with their version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a classic of synth-pop.
He later formed the innovative techno group The Grid, who secured chart success with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball died calmly in his rest at his home in London on October 22, only a short time after playing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in Henley-on-Thames.
Health Struggles
At that show, Ball appeared in a wheelchair, as he had for the previous couple of years, after a period of health issues.
"I ended up damage myself quite a bit," he commented in a recent interview. "I broke spinal bones in my spine and cracked about five ribs and broke my arm."
After contracting pneumonia and suffering from blood poisoning, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and stayed in the hospital for half a year.
However, he had been in "a great place mentally" during the summer, as he worked on a new album with Almond, titled the upcoming Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication in the coming year.
"He was concentrated and so happy with the latest project that we literally completed only a short time ago," said the singer in a tribute.
"It's so sad as next year was completely planned to be such an uplifting time for him, and I find comfort from the knowledge that he heard the finished record and believed that it was a great piece of work."
Tributes
Almond referred to his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", adding: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our body of work.
"Thank you Dave for being an immense aspect of my life and for the songs you created with me. I wouldn't be where I am without you."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, also paid tribute, recalling Ball's "endless laughter" and "steadfast support".
"Forming a duo with someone is different from being in a group, the bond is very tight," he continued.
"That was the case with us. We went through so many remarkable, incredible, memorable moments as a team. Thank you, Dave."
Formative Years
Brought into the world into a one-parent family in 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 his caregivers, who altered his given name from Paul to David, together with his sibling his sister, who was similarly welcomed.
He encountered Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both learning art. Fuelled by a mutual passion of Northern Soul, they formed Soft Cell the very year, and promptly produced an EP.
Musical Partnership
The duo were an distinctive pairing: Ball was the quiet technician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic showman, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they attained a rare creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with electronic instruments after viewing Kraftwerk perform on a television program a popular series, and started to marry moody electronic sounds to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second biggest-selling single of the early 80s, shifting millions of copies globally. Alongside hits by Gary Numan, Human League and electronic acts, it contributed to paved the path for the synth-pop sound of the 80s.
The track was also featured on their full-length debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which spawned two further 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.
Career Highlights
Fame had its benefits. "I loved being able to afford my initial property, having financial security and travelling, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball recently told with a music magazine.
But it also presented challenges. "Sudden riches meant we could afford substances to alleviate the boredom" of media interviews and TV performances, Ball said.
"I know that's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a valid cause, because it works for so many musicians."
Amidst the hedonistic lifestyle, the duo were also drifting apart, but they managed to produce a follow-up classic album - the unconventional, edgy and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released another LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group to focus on individual endeavors.
Almond went on to have a successful individual path, including the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who mixed acid house with melodic sounds over a long-lasting partnership.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell came back together in 2001, producing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following a further break, they reappeared in recent years, releasing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was supposed to be a final performance at the O2 Arena on 30 September, 2018.
However, they stayed active, recording their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.
Ball recently characterized the band's upcoming release as a tribute to the NYC nightlife they visited while recording their first two albums.
He added that his period in medical care had shaped the band's sound.
"I experienced strange recollections when I was in and out of hospital because I was on morphine," he explained to a music magazine.
"The new songs are a electronic representation of the sounds in my mind from those days.
"In parallel, it's about the experiences we had in the 1980s."
The final mixes were finished only a short time before Ball died. It is due for launch in Spring 2026.
