Dave Ball, a key member of the innovative 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the team achieved a worldwide hit with their cover of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in 1984, and their first record their initial full-length release is considered a classic of synth-pop.
He later founded the pioneering techno group The Grid, who achieved popular acclaim with their 1994 single the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball died peacefully in his sleep at his home in London on October 22, just weeks after playing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in the Thames-side town.
Health Struggles
At that show, Ball appeared in a mobility chair, as he had for the previous couple of years, after a spate of health issues.
"I ended up injure myself quite a bit," he commented in a recent interview. "I fractured spinal bones in my spine and cracked about multiple ribs and fractured my wrist."
After contracting a lung infection and suffering from sepsis, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and remained in hospital for seven months.
However, he had been in "high spirits mentally" during the summer, as he was developing a fresh record with Almond, called the upcoming Danceteria, which is scheduled for release in the coming year.
"He was concentrated and very pleased with the new album that we actually completed only a few days ago," said the vocalist in a tribute.
"It's so sad as next year was completely planned to be such an uplifting time for him, and I take some solace from the fact that he heard the finished record and believed that it was a masterpiece."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond described his collaborator 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 immense part 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".
"Being in a duo with someone is distinct from being in a band, the connection is incredibly close," he continued.
"That's how it was with us. We went through so many extraordinary, extraordinary, 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 1959, Ball was put up for adoption when he was 18 months old.
He was raised in Blackpool with his new family Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his given name from Paul to David, alongside his younger sister Susan, who was also adopted.
He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in the late 70s, where they were both studying art. Fuelled by a shared love of Northern Soul, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and quickly recorded an extended play.
Creative Collaboration
The pair were an distinctive pairing: Ball was the reserved musician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all sparkle and makeup; but they achieved a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with synthesizers after viewing Kraftwerk perform on BBC science show a popular series, and started to combine dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second most popular song of the early 80s, shifting 21 million copies worldwide. Alongside successful tracks by other artists, Human League and electronic acts, it helped paved the path for the electronic music style of the 80s.
The song was also included on their full-length debut, their initial LP, which produced two additional top five singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the record up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which reached at number two in the following year.
Career Highlights
Fame had its benefits. "I enjoyed being able to purchase my first home, having financial security and travelling, which makes me sound like a Miss World," Ball recently told with a publication.
But it also presented challenges. "Newfound wealth allowed we could purchase substances to alleviate the boredom" of press appearances and TV performances, Ball said.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a good reason, because it applies for so many musicians."
Amidst the hedonistic lifestyle, the duo were also growing distant, but they managed to produce a follow-up memorable record - the wayward, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out another LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group to concentrate on other projects.
Almond proceeded to have a successful solo career, including the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who mixed acid house with melodic sounds over a enduring collaboration.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, releasing the Top 40 album Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following a further hiatus, they reappeared in 2018, releasing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was supposed to be a final performance at the large venue on September 30, that year.
Yet, they stayed active, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.
Ball recently described the duo's upcoming release as a tribute to the NYC nightlife they frequented while making their first two albums.
He noted that his period in hospital had influenced the group's music.
"I had strange recollections when I was coming and going of hospital because I was on pain medication," he explained to a music magazine.
"The new songs are a electronic representation of the sounds in my head from that time.
"In parallel, it's about the times me and Marc had in the 1980s."
The final mixes were finished only a short time before Ball died. It is scheduled for release in the spring of 2026.
