Dave Ball, one half of the innovative 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Together with vocalist Marc Almond, the team scored a global success with their cover of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a classic 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 calmly in his rest at his residence in London on Wednesday 22 October, only a short time after playing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in Henley-on-Thames.
Recent Health Challenges
During that performance, Ball performed in a wheelchair, as he had for the previous couple of years, after a period of health issues.
"I ended up injure myself significantly," he stated in a recent interview. "I broke lower vertebrae in my back and fractured about five ribs and fractured my arm."
Following contracting a lung infection and suffering from blood poisoning, he was placed in an induced coma and remained in the hospital for half a year.
Nevertheless, he had been in "high spirits emotionally" during the warmer months, as he worked on a new album with Almond, called the upcoming Danceteria, which is scheduled for release next year.
"He was concentrated and very pleased with the latest project that we actually finished only a few days ago," stated the singer 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 listened to the finished record and believed that it was a great piece of work."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond referred to his bandmate as "a wonderfully brilliant musical genius", stating: "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 music you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without you."
Richard Norris from The Grid, also paid tribute, recalling Ball's "endless laughter" and "steadfast support".
"Being in a partnership with someone is distinct from being in a band, the connection is very tight," he added.
"That was the case with us. We went through so many remarkable, extraordinary, life-affirming experiences as a team. 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 his caregivers, who altered his first name from his birth name to David, together with his sibling Susan, who was similarly welcomed.
He encountered Almond at an art college in the late 70s, where they were both studying art. Inspired by a shared love of Northern Soul, they established Soft Cell the very year, and quickly produced an EP.
Creative Collaboration
The duo were an unusual combination: Ball was the quiet musician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all glitter and makeup; but they achieved a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with synthesizers after viewing the band Kraftwerk appear on BBC science show a popular series, and started to combine moody electronic sounds to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second most popular single of 1981, selling millions of copies worldwide. Alongside successful tracks by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it contributed to paved the path for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The song was also included on their full-length debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which spawned two additional high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the record up with the separate release, Torch, which peaked at the second position in 1982.
Professional Journey
Fame had its upsides. "I loved being able to purchase my first home, having money and travelling, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball recently told with a publication.
But it also caused challenges. "Newfound wealth meant we could afford newfound drugs to relieve the boredom" of press appearances and TV performances, Ball said.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a valid cause, because it applies for so many bands."
Amidst the party-filled existence, the duo were also drifting apart, but they succeeded to create a second classic album - the wayward, edgy and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released one more album, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group to concentrate on individual endeavors.
Almond proceeded to have a prosperous individual path, featuring the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who mixed acid house with ambient pop over a enduring partnership.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell came back together in the early 2000s, releasing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.
After another hiatus, they returned in recent years, issuing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was supposed to be a farewell show at the large venue on 30 September, that year.
Yet, they stayed together, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic restrictions.
Ball recently described the band's new album as a homage to the NYC nightlife they visited while making their first two albums.
He added that his period in hospital had shaped the group's music.
"I experienced unusual memories when I was in and out of hospital because I was on morphine," he told a publication.
"The new songs are a electronic representation of the sounds in my mind from those days.
"In parallel, it's about the times we got up to in the 1980s."
The last versions were completed only a short time before Ball died. It is scheduled for launch in Spring 2026.
