Dave Ball, a key member of the pioneering 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the pair scored a global success with their version of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in 1984, and their debut album their initial full-length release is considered a classic of electronic music.
He subsequently founded the pioneering techno group The Grid, who achieved chart success with 1994's 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 Festival in the Thames-side town.
Recent Health Challenges
At that performance, Ball performed in a wheelchair, as he had for the previous couple of years, following a period of ill-health.
"I ended up damage myself significantly," he stated in 2023. "I broke lower vertebrae in my spine and cracked about multiple ribs and fractured my wrist."
Following catching a lung infection and developing sepsis, he was placed in an medically-induced sleep and stayed in the hospital for half a year.
Nevertheless, he had been in "high spirits emotionally" during the summer, as he was developing a new album with Almond, called the upcoming Danceteria, which is set for release in the coming year.
"He was concentrated and so happy with the new album that we actually completed only a short time ago," said the vocalist 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 fact that he heard the finished record and believed that it was a great piece of work."
Tributes
Almond referred to his collaborator as "an exceptionally talented creative mastermind", stating: "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 aspect of my life and for the music you gave me. I wouldn't be where I am without your influence."
Richard Norris from The Grid, shared his condolences, recalling Ball's "endless laughter" and "steadfast support".
"Being in a duo with someone is different from being in a band, the connection is very tight," he added.
"That's how it was with us. We went through so many remarkable, incredible, life-affirming moments as a team. Many thanks, Dave."
Formative Years
Brought into the world into a single-parent household in Chester in 1959, Ball was put 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, alongside his sibling Susan, who was also adopted.
He encountered Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both studying art. Inspired by a mutual passion of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and promptly recorded an extended play.
Creative Collaboration
The duo were an unusual combination: Ball was the quiet technician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all glitter and makeup; but they achieved a unique creative synergy.
Ball had developed a fascination with synthesizers after viewing the band Kraftwerk appear on BBC program a popular series, and started to marry dark electronica to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.
Their signature song became the UK's second most popular single of 1981, selling millions of units worldwide. Together with successful tracks by other artists, Human League 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, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which spawned two additional high-charting hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the album up with the separate release, Torch, which peaked at the second position in the following year.
Professional Journey
Fame had its benefits. "I loved being able to afford my initial property, having money and exploring, which makes me sound like a Miss World," Ball not long ago told with a music magazine.
But it also caused problems. "Newfound wealth allowed we could afford substances to relieve the monotony" of press appearances and TV performances, Ball explained.
"I know that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a valid cause, because it works for so many musicians."
During the party-filled existence, the duo were also drifting apart, but they managed to produce a second classic album - the unconventional, tense and aptly-titled 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, 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 reunited in 2001, producing the charting record Cruelty Without Beauty.
After another break, they reappeared in 2018, issuing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was supposed to be a final performance at the O2 Arena on 30 September, that year.
However, they remained together, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.
Ball recently described the band's new album as a tribute to the New York club scene they visited while recording their initial records.
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 pain medication," he told a publication.
"Our latest tracks are a electronic representation of the sounds in my mind from that time.
"Simultaneously, it's about the times we got up to in the 80s."
The final mixes were finished only days before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for release in Spring 2026.