Dave Ball, one half of the pioneering 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Together with singer Marc Almond, the pair scored a worldwide hit with their version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a classic of synth-pop.
He later founded the pioneering techno group The Grid, who secured chart success with their 1994 single the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball died peacefully in his sleep at his home in London on October 22, just weeks after performing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in Henley-on-Thames.
Recent Health Challenges
At that show, Ball performed in a mobility chair, as he had for the last two years, after a spate of ill-health.
"I managed to injure myself quite a bit," he stated in a recent interview. "I broke spinal bones in my spine and cracked about multiple ribs and fractured my arm."
Following catching pneumonia and suffering from blood poisoning, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and remained in the hospital for half a year.
However, he had been in "high spirits emotionally" over the summer, as he was developing a new album with Almond, called the upcoming Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication next year.
"He was concentrated and so happy with the latest project that we literally finished only a short time ago," said the vocalist in a tribute.
"It's so sad as next year was all set to be such an uplifting time for him, and I take some solace from the knowledge that he listened to the completed album and felt that it was a great piece of work."
Tributes
Almond described his bandmate as "an exceptionally talented musical genius", adding: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our legacy.
"Many thanks Dave for being an immense part of my life and for the songs you created with me. I wouldn't be where I am without your influence."
Richard Norris from The Grid, also paid tribute, remembering Ball's "constant humor" and "steadfast support".
"Being in a duo with someone is different from being in a band, the connection is very tight," he continued.
"That's how it was with us. We experienced so many remarkable, extraordinary, memorable moments together. Many thanks, Dave."
Early Life
Born into a single-parent household in Chester in 1959, Ball was given up for adoption when he was 18 months old.
He was raised in the seaside town with adoptive parents his caregivers, who changed his given name from his birth name to his adopted name, together with his younger sister Susan, who was similarly welcomed.
He encountered Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both studying fine arts. Fuelled by a mutual passion of Northern Soul, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and promptly produced an EP.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an unusual combination: Ball was the reserved musician, hunched over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all glitter and makeup; but they attained a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with electronic instruments after viewing the band Kraftwerk perform on BBC program a popular series, and began to marry dark electronica to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second most popular song of the early 80s, shifting millions of copies globally. Alongside hits by Gary Numan, Human League and electronic acts, it helped cleared the way for the electronic music style of the 80s.
The song was also featured on their full-length debut, their initial LP, which produced two additional top five hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the album up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which reached at number two in 1982.
Career Highlights
Fame had its upsides. "I enjoyed being able to purchase my first home, having money and travelling, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball not long ago told with a publication.
But it also caused challenges. "Newfound wealth allowed we could purchase newfound drugs to alleviate the boredom" of media interviews and TV performances, Ball said.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a valid cause, because it applies for so many bands."
During the party-filled existence, the pair were also growing distant, but they managed to create a second memorable record - the unconventional, edgy and fittingly named 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 individual endeavors.
Almond went on to have a successful individual path, featuring the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who combined dance music with melodic sounds over a enduring collaboration.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, releasing the Top 40 album Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following a further hiatus, they returned in recent years, releasing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was supposed to be a final performance at the large venue on September 30, 2018.
However, they stayed active, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.
Ball recently characterized the duo's new album as a homage to the New York club scene they frequented while recording their first two albums.
He noted that his time in hospital had influenced the band's sound.
"I had strange recollections when I was in and out of the hospital because I was on pain medication," he told a music magazine.
"The new songs are a electronic representation of the sounds in my mind from that time.
"In parallel, it's about the experiences me and Marc got up to in the 80s."
The final mixes were completed only a short time before Ball died. It is scheduled for release in the spring of 2026.
