Dave Ball, a key member of the groundbreaking 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Together with vocalist Marc Almond, the duo scored a worldwide hit with their cover of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in 1984, and their debut album their initial full-length release is regarded as a seminal work of synth-pop.
He subsequently founded the innovative electronic act The Grid, who secured chart success with their 1994 single Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully in his rest at his residence in London on Wednesday 22 October, only a short time after playing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in Henley-on-Thames.
Recent Health Challenges
At that performance, Ball appeared in a mobility chair, as he had for the previous couple of years, after a period of health issues.
"I ended up damage myself quite a bit," he commented in a recent interview. "I broke lower vertebrae in my spine and fractured about multiple ribs and broke my wrist."
Following catching pneumonia and developing sepsis, he was placed in an medically-induced sleep and remained in the hospital for seven months.
However, he had been in "a great place emotionally" during the warmer months, as he was developing a new album with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is set for publication in the coming year.
"He was focused and so happy with the latest project that we literally completed only a short time ago," stated the vocalist in a tribute.
"It's so sad as next year was completely planned to be such an positive time for him, and I take some solace from the fact that he heard the finished record and felt that it was a masterpiece."
Tributes
Almond described his collaborator as "an exceptionally talented musical genius", stating: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our legacy.
"Thank you Dave for being an immense aspect of my life and for the music you created with me. I couldn'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".
"Forming a duo with someone is different from joining a group, the connection is incredibly close," he added.
"That was the case with us. We went through so many extraordinary, incredible, memorable experiences together. Thank you, Dave."
Formative Years
Brought into the world into a single-parent household in Chester in 1959, Ball was put up for adoption when he was 18 months of age.
He grew up in Blackpool with adoptive parents 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 an art college in the late 70s, where they were both studying art. Inspired by a shared love of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the very year, and quickly produced an extended play.
Creative Collaboration
The duo were an distinctive combination: Ball was the quiet technician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all glitter and makeup; but they achieved a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with synthesizers after watching Kraftwerk appear 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 UK's second biggest-selling single of the early 80s, shifting 21 million units globally. Alongside hits by Gary Numan, Human League and Ultravox, it contributed to cleared the way for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The track was also featured on their first album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which spawned two additional top five singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the album up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which peaked at number two 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 might seem like a beauty queen," Ball recently told with a music magazine.
But it also caused problems. "Newfound wealth allowed we could afford substances to relieve the boredom" of press appearances and television shows, Ball explained.
"I realize that's a common saying, but it's a truism for a valid cause, because it applies for so many bands."
Amidst the hedonistic lifestyle, the duo were also growing distant, but they managed to create a follow-up classic album - the wayward, edgy and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out one more LP, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the group to concentrate on other projects.
Almond went on to have a prosperous individual path, including the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who mixed acid house with ambient pop over a long-lasting partnership.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, producing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.
After a further hiatus, they returned in 2018, issuing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was supposed to be a farewell show at the large venue on September 30, that year.
However, they remained together, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic restrictions.
Ball recently described the band's new album as a tribute to the NYC nightlife they visited while recording 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 explained to a music magazine.
"Our latest tracks are a electronic representation of the sounds in my mind from that time.
"In parallel, it's about the times we got up to in the 1980s."
The final mixes were completed only a short time before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for release in Spring 2026.
