Dave Ball, one half of the innovative 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Together with vocalist Marc Almond, the team scored a global success with their version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a classic of electronic music.
He later founded the pioneering electronic act The Grid, who secured chart success with 1994's Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully in his rest at his residence in London on Wednesday 22 October, only a short time after playing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in the Thames-side town.
Health Struggles
During that performance, Ball performed in a wheelchair, as he had for the last two years, following a spate of health issues.
"I ended up damage myself significantly," he stated in 2023. "I broke lower vertebrae in my back and fractured about five ribs and broke my wrist."
Following catching a lung infection and suffering from blood poisoning, he was put in an induced coma and stayed in the hospital for seven months.
However, he had been in "a great place mentally" during the warmer months, as he was developing a new album with Almond, called Danceteria, which is scheduled for release in the coming year.
"He was focused and very pleased with the latest project that we actually finished only a short time ago," said the singer in a heartfelt message.
"It's truly heartbreaking 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 great piece of work."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond referred to his bandmate as "a wonderfully brilliant musical genius", stating: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our legacy.
"Thank you Dave for being an significant part of my life and for the music you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without you."
Richard Norris from The Grid, shared his condolences, remembering Ball's "constant humor" and "unwavering friendship".
"Forming a partnership with someone is distinct from joining a band, the connection is very tight," he added.
"That's how it was with us. We experienced so many remarkable, extraordinary, memorable experiences as a team. Many thanks, Dave."
Early Life
Born 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 of age.
He grew up in the seaside town with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his given name from Paul to David, together with his younger sister Susan, who was similarly welcomed.
He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both studying art. Fuelled by a mutual passion of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the same year, and promptly recorded an EP.
Creative Collaboration
The duo were an unusual pairing: Ball was the reserved technician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant showman, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they attained a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with synthesizers after viewing the band Kraftwerk perform on a television program Tomorrow's World, and started to marry moody electronic sounds to the catchy tunes Almond was composing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second most popular single of 1981, selling millions of copies worldwide. Together with hits by Gary Numan, Human League and Ultravox, it contributed to paved the path for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.
The track was also featured on their full-length debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which spawned two additional high-charting hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the record up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at number two in 1982.
Career Highlights
Success had its upsides. "I enjoyed being able to afford my initial property, having financial security and exploring, which might seem like a beauty queen," Ball recently told with a publication.
But it also caused challenges. "Newfound wealth allowed we could afford substances to relieve the monotony" of media interviews and TV performances, Ball explained.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a good reason, because it works for so many musicians."
During the hedonistic lifestyle, the duo were also growing distant, but they succeeded to produce a second memorable record - the wayward, edgy and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released one more album, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the band to focus on other projects.
Almond proceeded to have a prosperous solo career, including the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who mixed dance music with melodic sounds over a enduring partnership.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell came back together in the early 2000s, producing the charting record Cruelty Without Beauty.
After another hiatus, they returned in recent years, issuing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was intended to be a final performance at the O2 Arena on 30 September, 2018.
However, they remained together, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.
Ball recently 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 medical care had shaped the group's music.
"I had strange recollections when I was in and out of the hospital because I was on pain medication," he explained to a publication.
"The new songs are a electronic representation of the noises in my head from those days.
"In parallel, it's about the experiences me and Marc had in the 80s."
The final mixes were completed only days before Ball died. It is scheduled for launch in Spring 2026.
