Dave Ball, a key member of the innovative 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the duo scored a global success with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in 1984, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a seminal work of synth-pop.
He later founded the innovative electronic act The Grid, who secured chart success with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his rest at his residence in London on Wednesday 22 October, only a short time after performing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival 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 period of health issues.
"I ended up damage myself significantly," he commented in a recent interview. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my spine and cracked about multiple ribs and fractured my wrist."
After contracting a lung infection and developing sepsis, he was placed in an medically-induced sleep and remained in hospital for seven months.
Nevertheless, he had been in "a great place emotionally" during the summer, as he was developing a new album with Almond, titled the upcoming Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication next year.
"He was focused and so happy with the latest project that we literally finished only a few days ago," stated the singer in a heartfelt message.
"It's so sad as next year was completely planned to be such an positive time for him, and I find comfort from the fact that he listened to the completed album and felt that it was a masterpiece."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond described his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant musical genius", adding: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our legacy.
"Many thanks Dave for being an immense part of my life and for the music you created with me. I wouldn't be where I am without you."
Richard Norris from The Grid, also paid tribute, remembering Ball's "constant humor" and "steadfast support".
"Forming a duo with someone is distinct from joining a band, the connection is incredibly close," he continued.
"That was the case with us. We experienced so many remarkable, incredible, life-affirming moments as a team. Thank you, Dave."
Formative Years
Born into a one-parent family in Chester in 1959, Ball was put up for adoption when he was a year and a half of age.
He was raised in Blackpool with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who altered his given name from Paul to David, together with his younger sister Susan, who was also adopted.
He met Almond at an art college in the late 70s, where they were both learning art. Fuelled by a mutual passion of Northern Soul, they formed Soft Cell the very year, and promptly produced an EP.
Musical Partnership
The duo were an unusual pairing: Ball was the reserved musician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all sparkle and makeup; but they achieved a rare creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with synthesizers after watching the band Kraftwerk perform on a television program a popular series, and began to marry dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second most popular song of 1981, shifting 21 million units globally. Together with successful tracks by other artists, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it contributed to cleared the way for the synth-pop sound of the 80s.
The song was also included on their first album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which spawned two additional high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the album up with the separate release, Torch, which peaked at number two in 1982.
Professional Journey
Fame had its benefits. "I enjoyed being able to afford my initial property, having financial security and travelling, which makes me sound like a Miss World," Ball recently shared with a publication.
But it also presented problems. "Newfound wealth allowed we could purchase substances to relieve the boredom" of press appearances and television shows, Ball explained.
"I know that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a good reason, because it applies for so many musicians."
Amidst the hedonistic lifestyle, the pair were also drifting apart, but they managed to produce a follow-up classic album - the wayward, edgy and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out one more LP, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the band to focus on other projects.
Almond went on to have a prosperous solo career, featuring 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 collaboration.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell came back together in 2001, releasing the charting album Cruelty Without Beauty.
After a further hiatus, they reappeared in recent years, issuing 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, 2018.
However, they stayed together, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic restrictions.
Ball lately described the band's new album as a homage to the NYC nightlife they frequented while making their first two albums.
He noted that his time in hospital had shaped the group's music.
"I experienced strange recollections when I was in and out of hospital because I was on pain medication," he told a music magazine.
"Our latest tracks are a digital reflection of the sounds in my head from that time.
"In parallel, it's about the times we got up to in the 1980s."
The last versions were finished only a short time before Ball died. It is due for launch in the spring of 2026.
