Dave Ball, a key member of the groundbreaking 1980s synth-pop duo Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Together with vocalist Marc Almond, the pair scored a global success with their version of Gloria Jones' 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 secured popular acclaim with 1994's Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his sleep at his home in London on October 22, just weeks after playing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in Henley-on-Thames.
Health Struggles
During that performance, Ball performed in a wheelchair, as he had for the last two years, following a period of health issues.
"I managed to damage myself significantly," he commented in a recent interview. "I broke spinal bones in my spine and cracked about five ribs and broke my arm."
After contracting pneumonia and suffering from sepsis, he was placed in an medically-induced sleep and remained in hospital for seven months.
Nevertheless, he had been in "a great place emotionally" over the warmer months, as he was developing a new album with Almond, called Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication next year.
"He was focused and very pleased with the latest project that we literally finished only a short time ago," stated the singer in a heartfelt message.
"It's so sad as next year was completely planned to be such an uplifting year for him, and I find comfort from the knowledge that he listened to the finished record and believed that it was a masterpiece."
Tributes
Almond described his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant musical genius", adding: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our legacy.
"Thank you Dave for being an immense aspect of my existence and for the music you created with me. I wouldn't be where I am without you."
Richard Norris from The Grid, also paid tribute, remembering Ball's "endless laughter" and "steadfast support".
"Forming a duo with someone is different from being in a band, the bond is very tight," he continued.
"That was the case with us. We experienced so many extraordinary, incredible, memorable experiences together. Thank you, Dave."
Formative Years
Brought into the world into a one-parent family in the city of Chester in 1959, Ball was put up for adoption when he was 18 months of age.
He was raised in the seaside town with his new family Donald and Brenda Ball, who altered his first name from his birth name to David, alongside his sibling his sister, who was similarly welcomed.
He encountered Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both studying art. Inspired by a shared love of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and promptly recorded an extended play.
Creative Collaboration
The duo were an distinctive combination: Ball was the reserved technician, hunched over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic showman, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they achieved a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with synthesizers after viewing the band Kraftwerk appear on a television science show Tomorrow's World, and started to combine moody electronic sounds to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling single of 1981, selling 21 million units globally. Alongside successful tracks by Gary Numan, Human League and Ultravox, it helped cleared the way for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.
The song was also included on their first album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which produced two further high-charting hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the record up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which peaked at the second position in the following year.
Professional Journey
Success had its benefits. "I loved being able to afford my first home, having money and travelling, which might seem like a beauty queen," Ball recently told with a music magazine.
But it also presented problems. "Newfound wealth meant we could afford substances to relieve the boredom" of press appearances and television shows, Ball said.
"I know that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a good reason, because it applies for so many musicians."
During the party-filled existence, the duo were also drifting apart, but they succeeded to produce a second classic album - the wayward, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out another LP, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band to focus on individual endeavors.
Almond went on to have a successful solo career, featuring the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who combined acid house with ambient pop over a enduring partnership.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell came back together in 2001, producing the charting album Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following another hiatus, they returned in 2018, releasing the new tracks 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.
Yet, they stayed together, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.
Ball recently described the duo's new album 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 had unusual memories when I was in and out of the hospital because I was on morphine," he explained to a music magazine.
"The new songs are a electronic representation of the noises in my head from that time.
"In parallel, it's about the experiences me and Marc had in the 1980s."
The final mixes were finished only days before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for release in the spring of 2026.
