Dave Ball, one half of the groundbreaking 1980s synth-pop band Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the pair scored a global success with their version of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a classic of synth-pop.
He subsequently formed the pioneering electronic act The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with their 1994 single the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully in his rest at his home in London on October 22, only a short time after playing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in Henley-on-Thames.
Recent Health Challenges
During that performance, Ball performed in a wheelchair, as he had for the previous couple of years, after a period of ill-health.
"I managed to injure myself quite a bit," he stated in a recent interview. "I broke spinal bones in my spine and fractured about multiple ribs and fractured my arm."
Following catching a lung infection and developing blood poisoning, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and remained in the hospital for seven months.
However, he had been in "a great place mentally" over the summer, as he worked on a new album with Almond, called Danceteria, which is set for publication in the coming year.
"He was focused and so happy with the new album that we actually finished only a short time ago," said the singer in a heartfelt message.
"It's so sad as next year was all set to be such an uplifting time for him, and I find comfort from the fact that he heard the finished record and felt that it was a great piece of work."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond described his collaborator as "an exceptionally talented musical genius", adding: "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 life and for the songs you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without you."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, also paid tribute, remembering Ball's "constant humor" and "steadfast support".
"Being in a duo with someone is different from joining a band, the bond is very tight," he added.
"That's how it was with us. We experienced so many remarkable, incredible, memorable moments together. 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 of age.
He grew up in Blackpool with his new family his caregivers, who changed his given name from Paul to his adopted name, alongside his younger sister Susan, who was similarly welcomed.
He met Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both studying fine arts. Inspired by a shared love of Northern Soul, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and promptly recorded an extended play.
Creative Collaboration
The duo were an unusual pairing: Ball was the reserved technician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all glitter and eye-liner; but they achieved a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with electronic instruments after watching the band Kraftwerk perform on BBC program a popular series, and started to marry moody electronic sounds to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second most popular song of 1981, selling 21 million copies worldwide. Alongside successful tracks by other artists, Human League and Ultravox, it contributed to cleared the path for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.
The track was also included on their first album, their initial LP, which produced two additional top five singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the record up with the separate release, Torch, which reached 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 shared with a music magazine.
But it also caused challenges. "Sudden riches meant we could purchase substances to relieve the monotony" of press appearances and television shows, Ball explained.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a valid cause, because it works for so many musicians."
Amidst the hedonistic lifestyle, the duo were also growing distant, but they succeeded to produce a second classic album - the unconventional, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out another LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band to concentrate on individual endeavors.
Almond went on to have a prosperous individual path, featuring the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who mixed dance music with ambient pop over a long-lasting partnership.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell came back together in 2001, releasing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.
After another break, 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 September 30, that year.
However, they remained active, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.
Ball recently described the duo's upcoming release as a tribute to the New York club scene they visited while recording their first two albums.
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 morphine," he told a music magazine.
"The new songs are a digital reflection of the sounds in my mind from that time.
"In parallel, it's about the experiences me and Marc had in the 80s."
The last versions were finished only a short time before Ball passed away. It is due for release in the spring of 2026.
