Dave Ball, one half of the innovative 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Together with vocalist Marc Almond, the pair achieved a worldwide hit with their cover of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in 1984, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a seminal work of electronic music.
He subsequently formed the innovative techno group The Grid, who secured chart success with 1994's Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his sleep at his residence 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
At that performance, Ball performed in a mobility chair, as he had for the previous couple of years, following a spate of health issues.
"I ended up injure myself quite a bit," he commented in a recent interview. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my spine and cracked about five ribs and broke my arm."
Following contracting a lung infection and developing sepsis, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and stayed in the hospital for seven months.
However, he had been in "high spirits mentally" during the warmer months, as he worked on a new album with Almond, titled the upcoming Danceteria, which is set for release in the coming year.
"He was concentrated and so happy with the new album that we literally finished only a short time ago," stated the vocalist in a tribute.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was all set to be such an uplifting time for him, and I take some solace from the fact that he heard the completed album and believed that it was a great piece of work."
Tributes
Almond described his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", stating: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our legacy.
"Many thanks Dave for being an significant part of my existence and for the songs you created with me. I wouldn't be where I am without your influence."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, also paid tribute, remembering Ball's "constant humor" and "unwavering friendship".
"Forming a duo with someone is distinct from being in a band, the connection is incredibly close," he added.
"That was the case with us. We went through so many remarkable, extraordinary, life-affirming experiences together. Thank you, Dave."
Formative Years
Brought into the world into a one-parent family in the city of Chester in the late 50s, Ball was put up for adoption when he was 18 months old.
He was raised in Blackpool with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his first name from his birth name to David, alongside his younger sister Susan, who was similarly welcomed.
He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in the late 70s, where they were both studying art. Inspired by a shared love of Northern Soul, they established Soft Cell the same year, and quickly produced an EP.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an unusual combination: Ball was the quiet musician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all glitter and eye-liner; but they achieved a rare musical alchemy.
Ball had developed a fascination with electronic instruments after viewing the band Kraftwerk perform on BBC program a popular series, and began to combine moody electronic sounds to the catchy tunes Almond was composing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second biggest-selling song of 1981, selling 21 million copies globally. Together with successful tracks by other artists, Human League and electronic acts, it helped paved the way for the synth-pop sound of the 80s.
The track was also included on their first album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which produced two additional top five 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.
Career Highlights
Fame had its upsides. "I loved being able to purchase my first home, having financial security and travelling, which might seem like a beauty queen," Ball not long ago shared with a music magazine.
But it also presented problems. "Sudden riches meant we could purchase substances to relieve the monotony" of media interviews and TV performances, Ball said.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a valid cause, because it works for so many musicians."
Amidst the party-filled existence, the pair were also growing distant, but they succeeded to produce a follow-up classic album - the unconventional, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released one more album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group to focus on other projects.
Almond proceeded to have a prosperous individual path, featuring the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who mixed acid house with ambient pop over a long-lasting collaboration.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell reunited in 2001, producing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following another break, they returned in 2018, releasing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was intended to be a farewell show at the O2 Arena on September 30, that year.
Yet, they remained together, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.
Ball lately described the band's new album as a homage to the NYC nightlife they frequented while recording their initial records.
He added that his time in hospital had influenced the band's sound.
"I experienced unusual memories when I was coming and going of the hospital because I was on morphine," he explained to a publication.
"Our latest tracks are a digital reflection of the noises in my head from those days.
"In parallel, it's about the times me and Marc got up to in the 80s."
The last versions were finished only days before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for release in Spring 2026.
