Dave Ball, one half of the innovative 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Together with singer Marc Almond, the duo scored a global success 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 electronic music.
He later formed the innovative techno group The Grid, who secured chart success with their 1994 single the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully in his rest 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
During that performance, Ball performed in a wheelchair, as he had for the previous couple of years, after a spate of ill-health.
"I managed to injure myself significantly," he stated in 2023. "I broke spinal bones in my back and cracked about multiple ribs and fractured my wrist."
After catching pneumonia and developing sepsis, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and remained in hospital for seven months.
However, he had been in "a great place emotionally" during the summer, as he worked on a new album with Almond, called Danceteria, which is scheduled for release in the coming year.
"He was focused and so happy with the new album that we actually completed only a few days ago," stated the singer in a tribute.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was all set to be such an uplifting time for him, and I take some solace from the fact that he listened to the completed album and believed that it was a great piece of work."
Tributes
Almond referred to his bandmate as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", adding: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our body of work.
"Thank you Dave for being an significant part of my existence and for the songs you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without you."
Richard Norris from The Grid, also paid tribute, recalling Ball's "endless laughter" and "unwavering friendship".
"Forming a partnership with someone is different from being in a group, the bond is incredibly close," he continued.
"That was the case with us. We experienced so many remarkable, extraordinary, memorable moments together. Many thanks, Dave."
Early Life
Born into a one-parent family in the city of Chester in the late 50s, Ball was given up for adoption when he was a year and a half of age.
He was raised in the seaside town with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his first name from Paul to his adopted name, together with his younger sister Susan, who was similarly welcomed.
He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in the late 70s, where they were both studying fine arts. Fuelled by a mutual passion of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the very year, and promptly produced an extended play.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an distinctive pairing: Ball was the reserved musician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant showman, all sparkle and makeup; but they attained a rare musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with synthesizers after watching Kraftwerk perform on BBC science show Tomorrow's World, and started to combine moody electronic sounds to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.
Their signature song became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling song of the early 80s, selling millions of units globally. Alongside hits by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it contributed to paved the path for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.
The song was also featured on their first album, their initial LP, which produced two further high-charting hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the album up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at the second position in 1982.
Professional Journey
Fame had its upsides. "I loved being able to afford my first home, having financial security and exploring, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball not long ago told with a music magazine.
But it also caused problems. "Newfound wealth meant we could afford newfound drugs to alleviate the boredom" of media interviews and television shows, Ball explained.
"I know that's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a valid cause, because it works for so many musicians."
Amidst the party-filled existence, the pair were also growing distant, but they succeeded to produce a follow-up memorable record - the unconventional, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out one more album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the band to focus on other projects.
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 combined acid house with melodic sounds over a long-lasting collaboration.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell came back together in 2001, releasing the charting album Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following another break, they reappeared in recent years, issuing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was intended to be a final performance at the O2 Arena on 30 September, 2018.
However, they remained together, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.
Ball lately characterized the band's new album as a homage to the New York club scene they frequented while recording their initial records.
He noted that his period in hospital had shaped the band's sound.
"I had strange recollections when I was in and out of the hospital because I was on pain medication," he explained to a music magazine.
"The new songs are a digital reflection of the sounds in my mind from those days.
"In parallel, it's about the times me and Marc had in the 1980s."
The last versions were completed only days before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for release in the spring of 2026.
