Dave Ball, a key member of the innovative 1980s synth-pop duo Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the pair scored a global success with their version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a seminal work of electronic music.
He later founded the innovative electronic act The Grid, who secured chart success with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully in his rest at his residence in London on Wednesday 22 October, just weeks after performing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in Henley-on-Thames.
Health Struggles
At that show, Ball appeared in a wheelchair, as he had for the previous couple of years, after a spate of health issues.
"I managed to injure myself quite a bit," he stated in a recent interview. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my back and cracked about multiple ribs and broke my wrist."
After contracting pneumonia and developing sepsis, he was placed in an induced coma and remained in hospital for seven months.
Nevertheless, he had been in "a great place mentally" during the warmer months, as he was developing a new album with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication in the coming year.
"He was focused and very pleased with the latest project that we actually completed only a short time ago," said the vocalist in a tribute.
"It's so sad as next year was all set to be such an positive year for him, and I take some solace from the knowledge that he listened to the completed album and believed that it was a masterpiece."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond referred to his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant musical genius", stating: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our legacy.
"Many thanks Dave for being an immense aspect of my existence and for the music you gave me. I wouldn't be where I am without your influence."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, shared his condolences, recalling Ball's "constant humor" and "steadfast support".
"Being in a duo with someone is distinct from joining a group, the connection is very tight," he continued.
"That was the case with us. We experienced so many remarkable, extraordinary, memorable moments as a team. Thank you, Dave."
Formative Years
Brought into the world into a one-parent family in Chester in the late 50s, Ball was given up for adoption when he was 18 months of age.
He grew up in Blackpool with adoptive parents his caregivers, who altered his given name from Paul to his adopted name, alongside his younger sister Susan, who was similarly welcomed.
He met Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both studying fine arts. Fuelled by a mutual passion of Northern Soul, they established Soft Cell the very year, and quickly produced an extended play.
Creative Collaboration
The duo were an unusual combination: Ball was the quiet technician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a charismatic showman, all glitter and eye-liner; but they attained a rare creative synergy.
Ball had developed a fascination with electronic instruments after viewing Kraftwerk appear on a television science show Tomorrow's World, and started to marry moody electronic sounds to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.
Their signature song became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling song of the early 80s, shifting millions of units worldwide. Alongside hits by other artists, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it contributed to cleared the path for the synth-pop sound of the 80s.
The track was also featured on their full-length debut, their initial LP, which spawned two additional top five hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the album up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which reached at the second position in the following year.
Professional Journey
Success had its upsides. "I enjoyed being able to afford 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 purchase substances to alleviate the boredom" of press appearances and television shows, Ball said.
"I know that's a common saying, but it's a cliché for a valid cause, because it works for so many musicians."
During the party-filled existence, the pair were also growing distant, but they succeeded to produce a follow-up classic album - the wayward, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out one more album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band to concentrate on other projects.
Almond proceeded to have a successful individual path, including the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who combined acid house with melodic sounds over a long-lasting partnership.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell came back together in 2001, releasing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following another hiatus, they returned in recent years, releasing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was supposed to be a final performance at the large venue on 30 September, that year.
However, they remained together, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.
Ball recently characterized the band's upcoming release as a tribute to the New York club scene they visited while recording their first two albums.
He noted that his period in medical care had influenced the group's music.
"I had unusual memories when I was in and out of hospital because I was on morphine," he told a music magazine.
"The new songs are a electronic representation of the sounds in my head from that time.
"Simultaneously, it's about the times me and Marc got up to in the 80s."
The final mixes were finished only a short time before Ball died. It is scheduled for release in the spring of 2026.
