Dave Ball, one half of the innovative 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Alongside vocalist Marc Almond, the team scored a global success with their version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in 1984, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a classic of synth-pop.
He subsequently formed the pioneering techno group The Grid, who achieved popular acclaim with their 1994 single the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully in his sleep at his home in London on Wednesday 22 October, just weeks after playing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in Henley-on-Thames.
Recent Health Challenges
During that performance, Ball appeared in a mobility chair, as he had for the previous couple of years, after a spate of health issues.
"I managed to injure myself significantly," he stated in 2023. "I broke spinal bones in my spine and fractured about multiple ribs and fractured my wrist."
Following catching a lung infection and suffering from sepsis, he was placed in an induced coma and stayed in hospital for seven months.
Nevertheless, he had been in "high spirits mentally" over the warmer months, as he was developing a fresh record with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is set for publication in the coming year.
"He was concentrated and so happy with the latest project that we literally completed only a short time ago," stated the vocalist in a heartfelt message.
"It's so sad as next year was all set to be such an uplifting year for him, and I find comfort from the knowledge that he heard the finished record and felt that it was a masterpiece."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond referred to his bandmate as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", stating: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our body of work.
"Thank you Dave for being an immense aspect of my life and for the music you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without your influence."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, also paid tribute, remembering Ball's "endless laughter" and "steadfast support".
"Being in a duo with someone is distinct from joining a band, the bond is incredibly close," he added.
"That's how it was with us. We went through so many remarkable, extraordinary, memorable moments together. Many thanks, Dave."
Early Life
Born 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 grew up in the seaside town with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his given name from Paul to his adopted name, together with his younger sister his sister, who was also adopted.
He encountered Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both learning fine arts. Inspired by a shared love of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the very year, and promptly produced an EP.
Musical Partnership
The duo were an distinctive combination: Ball was the reserved technician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all glitter and makeup; but they achieved a rare musical alchemy.
Ball had developed a fascination with electronic instruments after watching Kraftwerk appear on BBC program Tomorrow's World, and began to combine moody electronic sounds to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second most popular single of the early 80s, selling 21 million copies globally. Together with hits by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it contributed to cleared the way for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.
The track was also featured on their first album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which produced two further top five singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the album up with the separate release, Torch, which peaked at the second position in 1982.
Professional Journey
Fame had its upsides. "I loved being able to afford my initial property, having money and travelling, which makes me sound like a Miss World," Ball recently shared with a publication.
But it also caused challenges. "Newfound wealth allowed we could purchase substances to alleviate the boredom" of media interviews and TV performances, Ball explained.
"I realize that's a common saying, but it's a truism for a good reason, because it applies for so many musicians."
Amidst the party-filled existence, the pair were also growing distant, but they managed to produce a second memorable record - the unconventional, edgy and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released another LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group 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 formed The Grid, who mixed acid house with ambient pop over a enduring partnership.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell came back together in 2001, releasing the Top 40 album Cruelty Without Beauty.
After another hiatus, they returned in 2018, releasing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was intended to be a final performance at the large venue on September 30, that year.
However, they remained together, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.
Ball lately described the band's upcoming release as a homage to the NYC nightlife they visited while recording their first two albums.
He added that his time in hospital had shaped the band's sound.
"I experienced strange recollections when I was in and out of the hospital because I was on morphine," he explained to a publication.
"Our latest tracks are a digital reflection of the noises in my head from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences we got up to in the 1980s."
The last versions were completed only days before Ball died. It is scheduled for launch in the spring of 2026.
