Dave Ball, a key member of the innovative 1980s synth-pop duo Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Alongside vocalist Marc Almond, the team scored a worldwide hit with their version of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a seminal work of synth-pop.
He subsequently formed the innovative techno group The Grid, who secured chart success with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his sleep at his home in London on October 22, just weeks after performing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in the Thames-side town.
Health Struggles
At that show, Ball appeared in a mobility chair, as he had for the previous couple of years, after a spate of health issues.
"I ended up damage myself quite a bit," he commented in a recent interview. "I fractured spinal bones in my spine and fractured about five ribs and fractured my arm."
Following contracting a lung infection and suffering from sepsis, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and stayed in hospital for seven months.
Nevertheless, he had been in "a great place mentally" during the warmer months, as he was developing a new album with Almond, called Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication next year.
"He was concentrated and so happy with the latest project that we actually finished only a short time ago," stated the vocalist in a tribute.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was completely planned 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 described his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", stating: "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 created with me. I wouldn't be where I am without your influence."
Richard Norris from The Grid, also paid tribute, remembering Ball's "constant humor" and "unwavering friendship".
"Being in a duo with someone is distinct from being in a group, the bond is incredibly close," he continued.
"That's how it was with us. We experienced so many extraordinary, extraordinary, life-affirming experiences together. Many thanks, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a single-parent household in Chester in the late 50s, Ball was put up for adoption when he was a year and a half of age.
He grew up in the seaside town with adoptive parents his caregivers, who altered his given name from his birth name to David, together with his sibling his sister, who was also adopted.
He encountered Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both studying fine arts. Fuelled by a mutual passion of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the same year, and promptly recorded an extended play.
Creative Collaboration
The duo were an unusual combination: Ball was the quiet musician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant showman, all sparkle and makeup; but they achieved a unique creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with synthesizers after watching Kraftwerk perform on a television science show Tomorrow's World, and began to marry moody electronic sounds to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.
Their signature song became the UK's second biggest-selling song of 1981, shifting millions of units globally. Together with hits by other artists, Human League and electronic acts, it helped paved the way for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The track was also included on their first album, their initial LP, which spawned two further high-charting hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the record up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which peaked at the second position in the following year.
Professional Journey
Fame had its benefits. "I enjoyed being able to afford my first home, having financial security and exploring, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball not long ago shared with a music magazine.
But it also presented challenges. "Newfound wealth allowed we could afford substances to relieve the boredom" of press appearances and TV performances, Ball explained.
"I realize that's a common saying, but it's a cliché for a good reason, because it works for so many musicians."
Amidst the party-filled existence, the pair were also drifting apart, but they managed to produce a second classic album - the unconventional, edgy and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released one more album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band to concentrate on other projects.
Almond proceeded 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 dance music with ambient pop over a long-lasting collaboration.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, producing the Top 40 album Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following a further break, they reappeared in 2018, issuing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was supposed to be a farewell show at the large venue on September 30, 2018.
However, they stayed together, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.
Ball recently characterized the duo's new album as a tribute to the NYC nightlife they frequented while recording their initial records.
He noted that his period in hospital had influenced the band's sound.
"I experienced unusual memories when I was coming and going of the hospital because I was on morphine," he explained to a music magazine.
"Our latest tracks are a digital reflection of the noises in my head from that time.
"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences we had in the 80s."
The final mixes were finished only a short time before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for launch in the spring of 2026.
