Dave Ball, one half of the pioneering 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the pair achieved a global success with their version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in 1984, and their first record their initial full-length release is considered a seminal work of electronic music.
He subsequently formed the pioneering electronic act The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with 1994's Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his sleep at his home 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
During that show, Ball performed in a wheelchair, as he had for the last two years, following a period of ill-health.
"I ended up injure myself quite a bit," he commented in 2023. "I broke spinal bones in my back and cracked about multiple ribs and fractured my arm."
Following contracting a lung infection and suffering from sepsis, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and remained in hospital for half a year.
However, he had been in "a great place emotionally" during the warmer months, as he was developing a fresh record with Almond, titled the upcoming Danceteria, which is scheduled for release in the coming year.
"He was focused and so happy with the latest project that we literally completed only a few days ago," said the singer in a heartfelt message.
"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 listened to the finished record and believed that it was a masterpiece."
Tributes
Almond described his bandmate as "an exceptionally talented creative mastermind", adding: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our body of work.
"Many thanks Dave for being an immense part of my life and for the songs you gave me. I couldn't be where I am without your influence."
Richard Norris from The Grid, also paid tribute, remembering Ball's "endless laughter" and "unwavering friendship".
"Forming a partnership with someone is distinct from joining a band, the bond is very tight," he added.
"That was the case with us. We went through so many remarkable, incredible, life-affirming moments as a team. Many thanks, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a one-parent family in the city of Chester in 1959, Ball was put up for adoption when he was 18 months of age.
He was raised in the seaside town with his new family Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his first name from his birth name to his adopted name, together with his younger sister Susan, who was also adopted.
He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both studying art. Fuelled by a shared love of Northern Soul, they established Soft Cell the same year, and promptly recorded an EP.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an unusual pairing: Ball was the quiet technician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic showman, all glitter and eye-liner; but they attained a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with synthesizers after watching Kraftwerk perform on BBC science show Tomorrow's World, and began to marry dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second biggest-selling single of the early 80s, shifting 21 million copies worldwide. Alongside hits by other artists, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it contributed to cleared the way for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The track was also included on their first album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which spawned 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.
Career Highlights
Fame had its upsides. "I loved being able to purchase my first home, having financial security and exploring, which makes me sound like a Miss World," Ball not long ago told with a publication.
But it also presented problems. "Sudden riches meant we could afford newfound drugs to relieve the boredom" of media interviews and television shows, Ball said.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a valid cause, because it applies for so many bands."
Amidst the party-filled existence, the pair 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 dissolving the band to focus 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 created The Grid, who combined acid house with melodic sounds over a long-lasting partnership.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell came back together in the early 2000s, releasing the Top 40 album Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following a further break, they reappeared 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 O2 Arena on September 30, that year.
Yet, they stayed active, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.
Ball lately described the duo's upcoming release as a tribute to the NYC nightlife they visited while making their initial records.
He noted that his time in medical care had influenced the band's sound.
"I had strange recollections when I was coming and going of hospital because I was on morphine," he explained to a publication.
"Our latest tracks are a electronic representation of the sounds in my head from those days.
"In parallel, it's about the experiences we got up to in the 1980s."
The last versions were completed only a short time before Ball died. It is scheduled for launch in the spring of 2026.
