Dave Ball, a key member of the pioneering 1980s synth-pop band Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Together with singer Marc Almond, the pair scored a global success with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record their initial full-length release is considered a seminal work of electronic music.
He later founded the innovative techno group The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with 1994's Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully in his rest at his home in London on October 22, only a short time after performing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in the Thames-side town.
Health Struggles
At that performance, Ball appeared in a mobility chair, as he had for the previous couple of years, after a spate of ill-health.
"I ended up damage myself significantly," he stated in 2023. "I broke lower vertebrae in my back and fractured about multiple ribs and broke my wrist."
Following contracting a lung infection and developing blood poisoning, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and remained in the hospital for seven months.
However, he had been in "a great place emotionally" over the summer, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is set for publication in the coming year.
"He was focused and so happy with the new album that we actually finished only a short time ago," stated the singer in a heartfelt message.
"It's so sad as next year was all set to be such an positive time for him, and I find comfort from the fact that he listened to the completed album and believed that it was a masterpiece."
Tributes
Almond referred to his bandmate as "an exceptionally talented creative mastermind", stating: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our body of work.
"Thank you Dave for being an immense part of my life and for the songs you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without your influence."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, also paid tribute, remembering Ball's "endless laughter" and "steadfast support".
"Forming a partnership with someone is different from being in a band, the bond is very tight," he added.
"That was the case with us. We experienced so many remarkable, extraordinary, memorable moments together. Many thanks, Dave."
Early Life
Born into a single-parent household in the city of Chester in 1959, Ball was put up for adoption when he was a year and a half of age.
He grew up in the seaside town with his new family his caregivers, who changed his first name from his birth name to David, alongside his sibling Susan, who was similarly welcomed.
He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in the late 70s, where they were both studying art. Inspired by a mutual passion of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and quickly produced an EP.
Musical Partnership
The duo were an distinctive pairing: Ball was the quiet technician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all sparkle and makeup; but they achieved a rare musical alchemy.
Ball had developed a fascination with electronic instruments after watching Kraftwerk appear on a television science show a popular series, and began to combine dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second most popular song of 1981, shifting millions of units worldwide. Together with hits by other artists, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it helped cleared the path for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.
The song was also featured on their full-length debut, their initial LP, which produced two further top five hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the album up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at the second position in the following year.
Career Highlights
Fame had its benefits. "I loved being able to afford my first home, having money and travelling, which makes me sound like a Miss World," Ball recently told with a music magazine.
But it also presented challenges. "Newfound wealth meant we could afford substances to relieve the boredom" of media interviews and television shows, Ball explained.
"I realize that's a common saying, but it's a truism for a good reason, because it works for so many musicians."
During the hedonistic lifestyle, the pair 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 one more album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group to focus on other projects.
Almond went on to have a prosperous individual path, including the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who mixed acid house with melodic sounds over a enduring partnership.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell reunited in 2001, producing the charting record Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following a further break, they returned in recent years, issuing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was intended to be a final performance at the O2 Arena on 30 September, that year.
Yet, they remained active, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic restrictions.
Ball recently characterized the band's upcoming release as a homage to the NYC nightlife 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 explained to a publication.
"The new songs are a electronic representation of the sounds in my head from that time.
"In parallel, it's about the times me and Marc got up to in the 1980s."
The final mixes were completed only a short time before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for launch in Spring 2026.
