Dave Ball, one half of the innovative 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Together with singer Marc Almond, the team achieved a global success with their version of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record their initial full-length release is considered a classic of synth-pop.
He later founded the innovative electronic act The Grid, who secured chart success with their 1994 single Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his rest at his home in London on Wednesday 22 October, only a short time after playing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in the Thames-side town.
Recent Health Challenges
At that show, Ball appeared in a mobility chair, as he had for the previous couple of years, after a period of ill-health.
"I ended up damage myself quite a bit," he commented in a recent interview. "I fractured spinal bones in my back and cracked about five ribs and fractured my wrist."
After contracting pneumonia and suffering from sepsis, he was placed in an medically-induced sleep and stayed in hospital for seven months.
Nevertheless, he had been in "a great place mentally" over the warmer months, as he worked on a new album with Almond, called Danceteria, which is set for release in the coming year.
"He was focused and so happy with the new album 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 positive time for him, and I find comfort from the knowledge that he listened to the completed album and believed that it was a masterpiece."
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 significant aspect of my existence and for the music you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without you."
Richard Norris from The Grid, shared his condolences, recalling Ball's "constant humor" and "steadfast support".
"Being in a duo with someone is different from being in a band, the bond is very tight," he continued.
"That's how it was with us. We went through so many remarkable, extraordinary, life-affirming experiences as a team. Thank you, Dave."
Formative Years
Born into a one-parent family 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 the seaside town with adoptive parents his caregivers, who changed his first name from his birth name to David, together with his younger sister Susan, who was also adopted.
He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both learning fine arts. Inspired by a mutual passion of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the very year, and promptly recorded an EP.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an distinctive combination: Ball was the reserved musician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all glitter and makeup; but they achieved a rare creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with electronic instruments after viewing Kraftwerk appear on BBC science show Tomorrow's World, and began to marry moody electronic sounds to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second most popular single of 1981, shifting 21 million units worldwide. Alongside successful tracks by Gary Numan, Human League and electronic acts, it helped paved the way for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.
The song was also included on their full-length debut, their initial LP, which produced two additional high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the record up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at the second position in the following year.
Professional Journey
Fame had its benefits. "I loved being able to afford my initial property, having financial security and travelling, which might seem like a beauty queen," Ball recently shared with a publication.
But it also caused problems. "Sudden riches allowed we could afford newfound drugs to alleviate the boredom" of media interviews and TV performances, Ball said.
"I know that's a common saying, but it's a cliché for a valid cause, because it works for so many bands."
During the party-filled existence, the duo were also growing distant, but they managed to produce a second classic album - the unconventional, edgy and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out one more album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band to focus on individual endeavors.
Almond went on to have a successful individual path, including the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who mixed dance music with melodic sounds over a long-lasting collaboration.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell came back together in the early 2000s, producing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.
After a further break, they reappeared in recent years, releasing 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 September 30, 2018.
However, they remained active, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.
Ball recently described the duo's new album as a tribute to the New York club scene they visited while recording their first two albums.
He noted that his time in medical care had shaped the band's sound.
"I had strange recollections when I was coming and going of the hospital because I was on pain medication," he told a publication.
"The new songs are a electronic representation of the noises in my head from those days.
"In parallel, it's about the times we had in the 80s."
The last versions were finished only days before Ball passed away. It is due for launch in Spring 2026.
