Dave Ball, a key member of the innovative 1980s synth-pop duo Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Together with singer Marc Almond, the pair achieved a worldwide hit with their cover of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their debut album their initial full-length release is regarded as a classic of electronic music.
He subsequently founded the pioneering electronic act The Grid, who achieved chart success with their 1994 single the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his sleep at his home in London on October 22, just weeks after performing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in Henley-on-Thames.
Health Struggles
During that show, Ball appeared in a wheelchair, as he had for the previous couple of years, after a period of ill-health.
"I managed to injure myself significantly," he stated in 2023. "I fractured spinal bones in my back and cracked about multiple ribs and fractured my arm."
Following catching pneumonia and suffering from blood poisoning, he was placed in an induced coma and remained in hospital for seven months.
However, he had been in "high spirits emotionally" over the summer, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is set for release in the coming year.
"He was concentrated and so happy with the new album that we literally finished only a few days ago," stated the singer in a tribute.
"It's so sad as next year was completely planned to be such an uplifting year for him, and I find comfort from the fact 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 creative mastermind", stating: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our legacy.
"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 your influence."
Richard Norris from The Grid, also paid tribute, recalling Ball's "endless laughter" and "unwavering friendship".
"Forming a duo with someone is distinct from joining a group, the connection is very tight," he continued.
"That's how it was with us. We went through so many extraordinary, extraordinary, memorable moments together. Many thanks, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a single-parent household in Chester in the late 50s, Ball was put up for adoption when he was 18 months old.
He grew up in Blackpool with adoptive parents his caregivers, who changed his first name from Paul to David, alongside his younger sister his sister, who was also adopted.
He encountered Almond at an art college in the late 70s, where they were both studying fine arts. Fuelled by a mutual passion of Northern Soul, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and quickly recorded an EP.
Musical Partnership
The duo were an unusual 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 developed a fascination with electronic instruments after watching Kraftwerk appear on BBC program a popular series, and began to combine moody electronic sounds to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second most popular single of the early 80s, shifting millions of copies globally. Alongside successful tracks by other artists, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it helped paved the path for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.
The song was also included on their full-length debut, their initial LP, which spawned two further high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the album up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which reached at number two in the following year.
Professional Journey
Fame had its upsides. "I loved being able to purchase my initial property, having money and travelling, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball recently told with a music magazine.
But it also presented problems. "Sudden riches allowed we could purchase newfound drugs to alleviate the boredom" of media interviews and TV performances, Ball said.
"I know that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a valid cause, because it works for so many bands."
Amidst the hedonistic lifestyle, the duo were also growing distant, but they managed to produce a follow-up memorable record - the unconventional, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out another album, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the band to focus on other projects.
Almond went on to have a prosperous individual path, including the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who mixed acid house with ambient pop over a long-lasting partnership.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell reunited in 2001, releasing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.
After a further break, they reappeared 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 30 September, that year.
However, they stayed active, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.
Ball lately characterized the band's new album as a tribute to the New York club scene they frequented while making their first two albums.
He noted that his period in medical care had shaped the group's music.
"I experienced strange recollections when I was coming and going of the hospital because I was on morphine," he told a music magazine.
"The new songs are a digital reflection of the noises in my mind from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the times me and Marc had in the 1980s."
The last versions were finished only a short time before Ball died. It is scheduled for launch in Spring 2026.
