Dave Ball, one half of the groundbreaking 1980s synth-pop duo Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Together with vocalist Marc Almond, the pair scored a worldwide hit with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in 1984, and their debut album their initial full-length release is regarded as a classic of synth-pop.
He later founded the pioneering techno group The Grid, who secured chart success with their 1994 single Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his sleep at his residence in London on October 22, just weeks after playing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in the Thames-side town.
Recent Health Challenges
At that performance, Ball performed in a mobility chair, as he had for the last two years, following a period of ill-health.
"I ended up damage myself quite a bit," he commented in 2023. "I broke spinal bones in my spine and cracked about multiple ribs and fractured my arm."
After contracting a lung infection and developing blood poisoning, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and stayed in hospital for half a year.
However, he had been in "a great place emotionally" during the summer, as he was developing a new album with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is scheduled for release in the coming year.
"He was concentrated and very pleased with the new album that we literally completed only a short time ago," said the vocalist in a tribute.
"It's so sad as next year was completely planned to be such an positive time for him, and I find comfort from the fact that he heard the finished record and believed that it was a masterpiece."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond described his collaborator as "an exceptionally talented creative mastermind", adding: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our legacy.
"Many thanks Dave for being an immense aspect of my existence and for the music you gave me. I wouldn't be where I am without your influence."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, also paid tribute, remembering Ball's "constant humor" and "unwavering friendship".
"Forming a duo with someone is distinct from joining a group, the bond is very tight," he added.
"That was the case with us. We experienced so many remarkable, incredible, life-affirming moments together. Many thanks, Dave."
Formative Years
Brought into the world into a one-parent family in Chester in the late 50s, Ball was given up for adoption when he was 18 months of age.
He was raised in the seaside town with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who altered his given name from his birth name to his adopted name, alongside his sibling Susan, who was also adopted.
He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both learning art. Inspired by a mutual passion of Northern Soul, they formed Soft Cell the very year, and promptly recorded an extended play.
Creative Collaboration
The pair were an unusual combination: Ball was the quiet technician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all glitter and makeup; but they attained a unique creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with synthesizers after viewing Kraftwerk appear on BBC program Tomorrow's World, and started to combine dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.
Their signature song became the UK's second biggest-selling single of 1981, selling millions of units globally. Together with hits by other artists, Human League and Ultravox, it contributed to paved the way for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The track was also included on their first album, their initial LP, which produced two additional high-charting hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the record up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which peaked at the second position in 1982.
Career Highlights
Success had its benefits. "I loved being able to purchase my initial property, having money and exploring, which makes me sound like a Miss World," Ball recently shared with a music magazine.
But it also caused problems. "Sudden riches allowed we could afford substances to alleviate the boredom" of media interviews and TV performances, Ball explained.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a good reason, because it applies for so many musicians."
During the hedonistic lifestyle, the pair were also drifting apart, but they succeeded to produce a second memorable record - the wayward, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out another LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band to focus on other projects.
Almond went on to have a successful solo career, 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.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, releasing the Top 40 album Cruelty Without Beauty.
After a further break, they reappeared in 2018, issuing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was intended to be a farewell show at the large venue on 30 September, 2018.
Yet, they stayed active, recording their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.
Ball recently described the band's new album as a tribute to the NYC nightlife they visited while recording their first two albums.
He added that his time in hospital had influenced the group's music.
"I experienced strange recollections when I was coming and going of the hospital because I was on morphine," he explained to a publication.
"Our latest tracks are a digital reflection of the sounds in my head from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences we got up to in the 1980s."
The last versions were finished only days before Ball passed away. It is due for release in the spring of 2026.
