Dave Ball, one half of the innovative 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Together with singer Marc Almond, the duo achieved a worldwide hit with their version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a classic of synth-pop.
He later formed the pioneering electronic act The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with their 1994 single Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his rest at his home in London on Wednesday 22 October, just weeks after performing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in the Thames-side town.
Recent Health Challenges
At that performance, Ball appeared in a wheelchair, as he had for the last two years, following a spate of health issues.
"I ended up damage myself quite a bit," he commented in 2023. "I broke lower vertebrae in my back and cracked about five ribs and broke my wrist."
After catching a lung infection and developing blood poisoning, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and remained in the hospital for seven months.
Nevertheless, he had been in "a great place emotionally" during the summer, as he was developing a fresh record with Almond, titled the upcoming Danceteria, which is set for publication in the coming year.
"He was concentrated and so happy with the new album that we actually completed only a few days ago," stated the vocalist 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 knowledge that he heard the finished record and felt that it was a masterpiece."
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 very proud of our legacy.
"Thank you Dave for being an significant part of my existence and for the songs you gave me. I couldn't be where I am without you."
Richard Norris from The Grid, shared his condolences, remembering Ball's "endless laughter" and "steadfast support".
"Being in a partnership with someone is different from joining a group, the bond is incredibly close," he added.
"That's how it was with us. We experienced so many extraordinary, extraordinary, life-affirming moments as a team. Thank you, Dave."
Formative Years
Brought into the world into a single-parent household in Chester in 1959, Ball was given up for adoption when he was a year and a half of age.
He was raised in Blackpool with his new family Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his given name from his birth name to his adopted name, together with his sibling his sister, who was also adopted.
He met Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in the late 70s, where they were both learning fine arts. Inspired by a mutual passion of Northern Soul, they formed Soft Cell the very year, and promptly produced an extended play.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an distinctive combination: Ball was the reserved technician, hunched over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all glitter and eye-liner; but they attained a rare creative synergy.
Ball had developed a fascination with synthesizers after viewing Kraftwerk perform on a television program Tomorrow's World, and started to marry moody electronic sounds to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.
Their signature song became the UK's second biggest-selling single of 1981, selling millions of units worldwide. Alongside successful tracks by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it contributed to cleared the way for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The song was also featured on their full-length debut, their initial LP, which spawned two further top five hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the record up with the separate release, Torch, which peaked at the second position in 1982.
Career Highlights
Success had its benefits. "I enjoyed being able to purchase my initial property, having money and exploring, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball recently shared with a music magazine.
But it also presented problems. "Newfound wealth allowed we could purchase substances to alleviate the monotony" of media interviews and television shows, Ball said.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a good reason, because it works for so many bands."
During the party-filled existence, the duo were also drifting apart, but they succeeded to produce a second classic album - the wayward, edgy and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out another album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group to concentrate on individual endeavors.
Almond proceeded to have a successful solo career, including the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who combined dance music with melodic sounds over a long-lasting partnership.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, producing the Top 40 album Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following another hiatus, they returned in recent years, releasing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was intended to be a farewell show at the large venue on 30 September, that year.
Yet, they remained together, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.
Ball lately characterized the duo's new album as a tribute to the New York club scene they frequented while making their first two albums.
He added that his time in hospital had influenced the band's sound.
"I had strange recollections when I was coming and going of the hospital because I was on pain medication," he told a music magazine.
"The new songs are a electronic representation of the sounds in my mind from that time.
"In parallel, it's about the experiences me and Marc got up to in the 80s."
The last versions were completed only a short time before Ball passed away. It is due for release in the spring of 2026.
