Dave Ball, one half of the pioneering 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Together with vocalist Marc Almond, the pair scored a worldwide hit with their version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a seminal work of electronic music.
He later formed the pioneering techno group The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball died peacefully in his rest at his home in London on Wednesday 22 October, just weeks after playing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in the Thames-side town.
Health Struggles
At that performance, Ball performed in a wheelchair, as he had for the last two years, after a spate of health issues.
"I ended up injure myself significantly," he stated in a recent interview. "I broke lower vertebrae in my spine and cracked about multiple ribs and fractured my wrist."
Following contracting pneumonia and suffering from blood poisoning, he was placed in an induced coma and remained in hospital for half a year.
However, he had been in "high spirits mentally" during the warmer months, as he worked on a new album with Almond, called the upcoming Danceteria, which is set for publication in the coming year.
"He was focused and so happy with the latest project that we actually finished only a short time ago," stated the singer in a heartfelt message.
"It's so sad as next year was completely planned to be such an uplifting year for him, and I take some solace from the fact that he listened to the finished record and felt that it was a great piece of work."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond described his bandmate as "a wonderfully brilliant musical genius", stating: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our body of work.
"Many thanks Dave for being an significant part of my life and for the songs you created with me. I wouldn't be where I am without your influence."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, also paid tribute, recalling Ball's "constant humor" and "unwavering friendship".
"Being in a duo with someone is different from joining a band, the connection is incredibly close," he added.
"That was the case with us. We went through so many extraordinary, incredible, life-affirming moments as a team. Many thanks, Dave."
Early Life
Born 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 old.
He grew up in Blackpool with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who altered his given name from Paul to his adopted name, together with his younger sister his sister, who was similarly welcomed.
He met Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both studying art. Fuelled by a shared love of Northern Soul, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and promptly recorded an extended play.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an distinctive combination: Ball was the quiet technician, hunched over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all glitter and eye-liner; but they achieved a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with electronic instruments after viewing Kraftwerk appear on a television science show Tomorrow's World, and started to combine dark electronica to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling single of the early 80s, shifting millions of copies globally. Alongside hits by other artists, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it helped paved the way 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 further high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the record up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which peaked at number two in the following year.
Professional Journey
Fame had its benefits. "I loved being able to afford my first home, having financial security and exploring, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball recently told with a publication.
But it also presented challenges. "Sudden riches meant we could afford substances to alleviate the monotony" of media interviews and television shows, Ball explained.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a valid cause, because it applies for so many musicians."
Amidst the hedonistic lifestyle, the pair were also growing distant, but they succeeded to create a follow-up classic album - the wayward, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out another LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the band to focus 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 formed The Grid, who mixed dance music with melodic sounds over a long-lasting partnership.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell came back together in the early 2000s, producing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.
After another hiatus, they reappeared in 2018, 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 O2 Arena on 30 September, 2018.
Yet, they remained together, recording their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.
Ball recently described the band's new album as a tribute to the NYC nightlife they visited while making their first two albums.
He noted that his time in hospital had shaped the group's music.
"I experienced strange recollections when I was in and out of the hospital because I was on pain medication," he told a publication.
"Our latest tracks are a digital reflection of the noises in my mind from that time.
"In parallel, it's about the times me and Marc got up to in the 80s."
The final mixes were completed only days before Ball died. It is due for release in the spring of 2026.
