Dave Ball, a key member of the groundbreaking 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Together with singer Marc Almond, the team achieved a global success with their cover of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a classic of electronic music.
He subsequently formed the innovative techno group The Grid, who secured chart success with their 1994 single the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball died calmly in his sleep at his residence in London on October 22, just weeks after performing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in Henley-on-Thames.
Recent Health Challenges
During that show, Ball performed in a wheelchair, as he had for the previous couple of years, after a period of health issues.
"I ended up injure myself quite a bit," he stated in a recent interview. "I fractured spinal bones in my back and fractured about five ribs and broke my wrist."
After catching a lung infection and suffering from sepsis, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and stayed in the hospital for seven months.
However, he had been in "high spirits mentally" during the summer, as he worked on a new album with Almond, called Danceteria, which is set for publication in the coming year.
"He was concentrated and very pleased with the new album that we literally finished only a few days ago," stated the singer in a tribute.
"It's so sad as next year was completely planned to be such an uplifting time for him, and I find comfort from the fact that he listened to the completed album and believed that it was a great piece of work."
Tributes
Almond described his collaborator as "an exceptionally talented musical genius", adding: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our body of work.
"Thank you Dave for being an significant part of my life and for the songs you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without you."
Richard Norris from The Grid, also paid tribute, recalling Ball's "constant humor" and "steadfast support".
"Being in a duo with someone is distinct from being in a band, the connection is very tight," he continued.
"That was the case with us. We experienced so many extraordinary, extraordinary, life-affirming experiences together. Thank you, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a one-parent family in Chester in 1959, Ball was given up for adoption when he was 18 months old.
He was raised in the seaside town with his new family his caregivers, who changed his first name from his birth name to his adopted name, alongside his sibling Susan, who was similarly welcomed.
He met Almond at an art college in the late 70s, where they were both studying art. Inspired by a mutual passion of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the very year, and quickly produced an extended play.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an distinctive combination: Ball was the quiet musician, hunched over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all sparkle and makeup; but they attained a unique creative synergy.
Ball had developed a interest with electronic instruments after viewing the band Kraftwerk appear on a television program a popular series, and started to marry dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.
Their signature song became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling song of the early 80s, shifting millions of units globally. Alongside hits by other artists, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it helped cleared the path for the electronic music style of the 80s.
The song was also featured on their full-length debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which spawned two additional top five hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the album up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at the second position in 1982.
Career Highlights
Fame had its upsides. "I enjoyed being able to purchase my first home, having financial security and travelling, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball recently told with a publication.
But it also caused problems. "Sudden riches allowed we could purchase substances to relieve the boredom" of press appearances and television shows, Ball explained.
"I realize that's a common saying, but it's a cliché for a good reason, because it works for so many bands."
During the hedonistic lifestyle, the pair were also drifting apart, but they managed to produce a second memorable record - the unconventional, edgy and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released another LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band to focus on individual endeavors.
Almond went on to have a successful solo career, featuring the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who combined acid house with ambient pop over a enduring collaboration.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell came back together in 2001, producing the charting album Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following a further hiatus, they reappeared in 2018, issuing the original singles 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, 2018.
Yet, they remained active, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.
Ball lately described the band's new album as a tribute to the New York club scene they frequented while making their initial records.
He noted that his period in medical care had shaped the group's music.
"I experienced unusual memories when I was coming and going of hospital because I was on morphine," he told a music magazine.
"The new songs are a electronic representation of the sounds in my mind from that time.
"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences me and Marc got up to in the 80s."
The final mixes were finished only days before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for launch in the spring of 2026.
