Dave Ball, one half of the pioneering 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 version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in 1984, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a classic of synth-pop.
He subsequently formed the pioneering electronic act The Grid, who achieved popular acclaim with 1994's Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully in his sleep at his residence in London on Wednesday 22 October, just weeks after playing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in Henley-on-Thames.
Health Struggles
At that show, Ball appeared in a wheelchair, as he had for the previous couple of years, after a spate of health issues.
"I managed to damage myself quite a bit," he stated in 2023. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my spine and cracked about five ribs and fractured my arm."
Following catching pneumonia and suffering from blood poisoning, he was put in an induced coma and stayed in the 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, called the upcoming Danceteria, which is set for publication in the coming year.
"He was focused and so happy with the latest project that we actually 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 positive time for him, and I take some solace from the knowledge that he heard the finished record and believed that it was a great piece of work."
Tributes
Almond described his bandmate as "a wonderfully brilliant musical genius", stating: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our legacy.
"Many thanks Dave for being an significant aspect of my life and for the music you gave me. I couldn't be where I am without you."
Richard Norris from The Grid, shared his condolences, remembering Ball's "endless laughter" and "unwavering friendship".
"Forming a duo with someone is different from joining a band, the connection is very tight," he added.
"That's how it was with us. We experienced so many extraordinary, extraordinary, life-affirming experiences as a team. Many thanks, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a single-parent household in the city of Chester in 1959, Ball was given up for adoption when he was a year and a half old.
He was raised in the seaside town with adoptive parents his caregivers, who altered his first name from Paul to David, alongside his younger sister his sister, who was similarly welcomed.
He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in the late 70s, where they were both studying fine arts. Fuelled by a shared love of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and quickly recorded an extended play.
Musical Partnership
The duo were an distinctive combination: Ball was the quiet musician, hunched over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all glitter and makeup; but they attained a rare creative synergy.
Ball had developed a interest with electronic instruments after watching the band Kraftwerk perform on BBC science show Tomorrow's World, and started to marry moody electronic sounds to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second biggest-selling song of the early 80s, selling 21 million units worldwide. Together with successful tracks by Gary Numan, Human League and electronic acts, it contributed to paved the path for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The song was also included on their full-length debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which spawned two further top five hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the album up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which peaked at the second position in the following year.
Professional Journey
Fame had its upsides. "I enjoyed being able to afford my initial property, having financial security and exploring, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball not long ago told with a publication.
But it also presented problems. "Newfound wealth meant we could purchase substances to alleviate the monotony" of press appearances and TV performances, Ball said.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a good reason, because it applies for so many bands."
Amidst the party-filled existence, the pair were also drifting apart, but they managed to produce a follow-up classic album - the wayward, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out another album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the band to focus on other projects.
Almond proceeded to have a successful individual path, featuring the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who mixed acid house with ambient pop over a enduring partnership.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell reunited in 2001, producing the charting album Cruelty Without Beauty.
After another break, they returned in 2018, issuing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was intended to be a farewell show at the large venue on September 30, 2018.
However, they stayed together, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.
Ball lately described the duo's upcoming release as a homage to the New York club scene they visited while recording their initial records.
He noted that his time in hospital had shaped the group's music.
"I experienced strange recollections when I was in and out of hospital because I was on pain medication," he told a music magazine.
"Our latest tracks are a electronic representation 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 completed only days before Ball passed away. It is due for launch in the spring of 2026.
