Dave Ball, one half of the innovative 1980s synth-pop duo Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Together with vocalist Marc Almond, the team scored a worldwide hit with their version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in 1984, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a seminal work of electronic music.
He subsequently founded the innovative techno group The Grid, who achieved chart success with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his rest at his home in London on October 22, just weeks after playing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in the Thames-side town.
Recent Health Challenges
During that performance, Ball performed in a wheelchair, as he had for the last two years, after a spate of health issues.
"I managed to injure myself quite a bit," he commented in a recent interview. "I broke lower vertebrae in my spine and cracked about multiple ribs and broke my arm."
Following catching pneumonia and developing sepsis, he was placed in an medically-induced sleep and stayed in the hospital for half a year.
However, he had been in "high spirits emotionally" during the warmer months, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is set for release next year.
"He was concentrated and very pleased with the latest project that we literally completed only a few days ago," said the vocalist in a heartfelt message.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was all set to be such an uplifting time for him, and I find comfort from the fact that he listened to the finished record and believed that it was a masterpiece."
Tributes
Almond referred to his bandmate as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", adding: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our body of work.
"Many thanks Dave for being an significant aspect of my existence and for the music you gave me. I couldn't be where I am without your influence."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, also paid tribute, recalling Ball's "endless laughter" and "steadfast support".
"Forming a duo with someone is distinct from joining a group, the bond is incredibly close," he continued.
"That was the case with us. We went through so many extraordinary, incredible, life-affirming moments as a team. Thank you, Dave."
Formative Years
Brought into the world into a one-parent family in the city of Chester in 1959, Ball was given up for adoption when he was a year and a half of age.
He was raised in the seaside town with his new family his caregivers, who altered his given name from his birth name to David, alongside his younger sister Susan, who was also adopted.
He met Almond at an art college in the late 70s, where they were both learning art. Inspired by a mutual passion of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and promptly recorded an extended play.
Musical Partnership
The duo were an unusual combination: Ball was the quiet technician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant showman, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they achieved a rare musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with synthesizers after watching Kraftwerk appear on a television program Tomorrow's World, and started to marry dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling song of 1981, shifting 21 million copies globally. Together with hits by other artists, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it helped cleared the path for the synth-pop sound of the 80s.
The track was also included on their first album, their initial LP, which spawned two additional high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the album up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which reached at number two in 1982.
Professional Journey
Success had its upsides. "I enjoyed being able to afford my first home, having money and exploring, which might seem like a beauty queen," Ball not long ago shared with a publication.
But it also caused challenges. "Newfound wealth allowed we could purchase newfound drugs to relieve the boredom" of media interviews and TV performances, Ball explained.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a valid cause, because it works for so many musicians."
Amidst the hedonistic lifestyle, the pair were also drifting apart, but they succeeded to produce a second classic album - the unconventional, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out another LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band to concentrate on other projects.
Almond went on to have a successful individual path, featuring the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who combined dance music with ambient pop over a enduring partnership.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, producing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following a further break, they reappeared in 2018, releasing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was intended to be a final performance at the O2 Arena on 30 September, that year.
Yet, they stayed together, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.
Ball lately characterized the duo's new album as a tribute to the NYC nightlife they frequented while making their initial records.
He added that his period in medical care had shaped the band's sound.
"I experienced unusual memories when I was coming and going of hospital because I was on morphine," he explained to a publication.
"Our latest tracks are a digital reflection of the noises in my mind from those days.
"In parallel, it's about the times we had in the 1980s."
The last versions were finished only days before Ball passed away. It is due for launch in Spring 2026.
