Dave Ball, a key member of the innovative 1980s synth-pop duo Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Together with singer Marc Almond, the team achieved a global success with their version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a seminal work of electronic music.
He subsequently founded the innovative techno group The Grid, who achieved 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, just weeks after performing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in Henley-on-Thames.
Health Struggles
During that performance, Ball performed in a wheelchair, as he had for the previous couple of years, after a spate of health issues.
"I managed to damage myself quite a bit," he stated in a recent interview. "I fractured spinal bones in my spine and fractured about five ribs and fractured my wrist."
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" over the warmer months, as he was developing a new album with Almond, called Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication next year.
"He was concentrated and so happy with the latest project that we literally finished only a few days ago," said the vocalist in a tribute.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was all set to be such an positive time for him, and I find comfort from the fact that he listened to the finished record and believed that it was a masterpiece."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond described his collaborator as "an exceptionally talented musical genius", adding: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our body of work.
"Thank you Dave for being an immense aspect of my existence and for the songs you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without you."
Richard Norris from The Grid, shared his condolences, recalling Ball's "constant humor" and "unwavering friendship".
"Forming a partnership with someone is different from being in a group, the connection is incredibly close," he continued.
"That's how it was with us. We experienced so many extraordinary, incredible, life-affirming moments together. Many thanks, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a single-parent household in the city of Chester in the late 50s, Ball was put up for adoption when he was 18 months old.
He was raised in Blackpool with his new family his caregivers, who changed his given name from Paul to his adopted name, together with his younger sister his sister, who was also adopted.
He met Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both learning fine arts. Fuelled by a shared love of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the very year, and promptly produced an EP.
Musical Partnership
The duo were an distinctive combination: Ball was the reserved musician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant showman, all sparkle and makeup; but they achieved a rare creative synergy.
Ball had developed a interest with electronic instruments after viewing the band Kraftwerk perform on BBC science show a popular series, and started to combine moody electronic sounds to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.
Their signature song became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling single of 1981, shifting 21 million copies worldwide. Alongside hits by Gary Numan, Human League and electronic acts, it helped cleared the way for the synth-pop sound of the 80s.
The song was also included on their full-length debut, their initial LP, which spawned two additional top five hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the record up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which reached at the second position in the following year.
Career Highlights
Fame had its benefits. "I loved being able to afford my initial property, having financial security and exploring, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball recently shared with a publication.
But it also presented challenges. "Sudden riches meant 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 truism for a good reason, because it applies for so many musicians."
During the party-filled existence, the pair were also growing distant, but they succeeded to produce a second memorable record - the unconventional, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released one more LP, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group to concentrate on individual endeavors.
Almond proceeded to have a prosperous individual path, 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 enduring collaboration.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell reunited in 2001, producing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.
After a further break, they returned in 2018, issuing the new tracks 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.
However, they remained together, recording their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic restrictions.
Ball recently characterized the band's new album as a tribute to the NYC nightlife they frequented while recording their initial records.
He added that his period in medical care had shaped the group's music.
"I experienced strange recollections when I was coming and going of hospital because I was on pain medication," he told a music magazine.
"Our latest tracks are a electronic representation of the sounds in my head from that time.
"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences me and Marc got up to in the 1980s."
The last versions were finished only a short time before Ball died. It is scheduled for launch in the spring of 2026.
