Dave Ball, a key member of the groundbreaking 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Alongside vocalist Marc Almond, the duo achieved a worldwide hit with their version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a classic of electronic music.
He subsequently formed the innovative electronic act The Grid, who achieved chart success with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball died calmly in his rest at his residence in London on Wednesday 22 October, only a short time after performing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in Henley-on-Thames.
Health Struggles
At that show, Ball performed in a wheelchair, as he had for the previous couple of years, after a period of ill-health.
"I ended up damage myself quite a bit," he stated in 2023. "I fractured spinal bones in my spine and fractured about five ribs and fractured my arm."
After contracting a lung infection and suffering from blood poisoning, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and stayed in the hospital for half a year.
Nevertheless, he had been in "a great place mentally" during the warmer months, as he was developing a new album with Almond, called the upcoming Danceteria, which is set 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," stated the singer in a heartfelt message.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was all set to be such an positive time for him, and I find comfort from the knowledge that he heard the completed album and felt that it was a great piece of work."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond described his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", adding: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our legacy.
"Thank you Dave for being an immense part of my existence and for the songs you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without your influence."
Richard Norris from The Grid, shared his condolences, recalling Ball's "endless laughter" and "steadfast support".
"Being in a partnership with someone is different from being in a band, the bond is incredibly close," he added.
"That's how it was with us. We went through so many remarkable, incredible, life-affirming moments as a team. 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 a year and a half of age.
He was raised in Blackpool with his new family his caregivers, who changed his given name from his birth name to his adopted name, alongside his younger sister his sister, who was similarly welcomed.
He encountered Almond at an art college in the late 70s, where they were both learning art. Fuelled by a mutual passion of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and promptly produced an extended play.
Creative Collaboration
The duo were an unusual pairing: Ball was the quiet technician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all sparkle and makeup; but they achieved a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had developed a fascination with electronic instruments after watching the band Kraftwerk appear on a television program a popular series, and began to marry moody electronic sounds to the catchy tunes Almond was composing.
Their signature song became the UK's second most popular song of the early 80s, selling 21 million units worldwide. Together with hits by other artists, Human League and Ultravox, it helped cleared the path for the electronic music style of the 80s.
The track was also featured on their first album, their initial LP, which produced two additional high-charting hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the album up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at number two in the following year.
Professional Journey
Fame had its benefits. "I enjoyed being able to purchase my first home, having financial security and travelling, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball not long ago shared with a publication.
But it also presented challenges. "Newfound wealth meant we could purchase substances to relieve the monotony" of media interviews and TV performances, Ball said.
"I know that's a common saying, but it's a cliché for a valid cause, because it works for so many bands."
During the hedonistic lifestyle, the pair were also drifting apart, but they succeeded to produce a follow-up classic album - the unconventional, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released another LP, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band to concentrate on individual endeavors.
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 ambient pop over a long-lasting partnership.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell came back together in 2001, producing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following another break, they reappeared in recent years, issuing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was intended to be a farewell show at the O2 Arena on September 30, that year.
Yet, 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 making their first two albums.
He noted that his period in hospital had shaped the band's sound.
"I experienced strange recollections when I was coming and going of hospital because I was on morphine," he explained to a publication.
"The new songs are a electronic representation of the sounds in my mind from those days.
"In parallel, it's about the experiences me and Marc got up to in the 80s."
The final mixes were finished only a short time before Ball died. It is due for release in the spring of 2026.
