Dave Ball, a key member of the groundbreaking 1980s synth-pop duo Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Together with singer Marc Almond, the duo scored a worldwide hit with their version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in 1984, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a seminal work of synth-pop.
He subsequently founded the innovative electronic act The Grid, who achieved popular acclaim with 1994's Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully in his sleep at his home in London on Wednesday 22 October, only a short time after performing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in the Thames-side town.
Recent Health Challenges
At that show, Ball performed in a mobility chair, as he had for the last two years, following a spate of health issues.
"I managed to damage myself significantly," he commented in 2023. "I broke lower vertebrae in my back and fractured about multiple ribs and broke my arm."
After contracting a lung infection and suffering from sepsis, he was placed in an medically-induced sleep and remained in hospital for half a year.
However, he had been in "high spirits emotionally" during the warmer months, as he was developing a new album with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication next year.
"He was concentrated and very pleased with the new album that we actually finished only a few days ago," said the vocalist in a heartfelt message.
"It's so sad as next year was all set to be such an uplifting time for him, and I take some solace from the knowledge that he listened to the completed album and believed that it was a great piece of work."
Tributes
Almond described his bandmate as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", adding: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our body of work.
"Many thanks Dave for being an significant aspect of my life and for the songs you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without you."
Richard Norris from The Grid, also paid tribute, recalling Ball's "constant humor" and "steadfast support".
"Being in a partnership with someone is distinct from being in a band, the bond is very tight," he continued.
"That was the case with us. We experienced so many extraordinary, incredible, life-affirming experiences as a team. Thank you, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a single-parent household in the city of Chester in the late 50s, Ball was given up for adoption when he was 18 months old.
He grew up in Blackpool with adoptive parents his caregivers, who altered his first name from his birth name to his adopted name, together with his younger sister his sister, who was similarly welcomed.
He encountered 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 established Soft Cell the same year, and promptly produced an extended play.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an unusual combination: Ball was the reserved musician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic showman, all glitter and eye-liner; but they achieved a rare musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with electronic instruments after viewing the band Kraftwerk perform on BBC science show Tomorrow's World, and started to combine moody electronic sounds to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.
Their signature song became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling song of 1981, selling millions of copies worldwide. Alongside successful tracks by Gary Numan, Human League and Ultravox, it helped paved the path for the synth-pop sound of the 80s.
The song was also featured on their full-length debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which produced two additional top five 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.
Career Highlights
Fame had its benefits. "I enjoyed being able to afford my first home, having financial security and exploring, which might seem like a beauty queen," Ball not long ago shared with a music magazine.
But it also caused challenges. "Sudden riches meant we could purchase newfound drugs to alleviate the boredom" of press appearances and TV performances, Ball said.
"I know that's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a valid cause, because it applies for so many bands."
Amidst the party-filled existence, the pair were also growing distant, but they managed to produce a follow-up classic album - the unconventional, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out one more album, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group to concentrate on other projects.
Almond proceeded to have a successful 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 melodic sounds over a long-lasting partnership.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, producing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.
After a further break, they reappeared in 2018, issuing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was intended to be a final performance at the large venue on September 30, that year.
Yet, they remained together, recording their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic restrictions.
Ball recently described the duo's new album as a tribute to the New York club scene they frequented while making their initial records.
He noted that his period in hospital had shaped the group's music.
"I had strange recollections when I was coming and going of the hospital because I was on morphine," he told a publication.
"The new songs are a digital reflection of the noises in my head from that time.
"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences me and Marc got up to in the 1980s."
The final mixes were finished only days before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for launch in Spring 2026.
