Dave Ball, a key member of the innovative 1980s synth-pop duo Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the pair scored a worldwide hit with their version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in 1984, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a classic of synth-pop.
He later formed the innovative electronic act The Grid, who achieved chart success with their 1994 single the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball died peacefully in his sleep at his residence in London on Wednesday 22 October, just weeks after playing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in Henley-on-Thames.
Recent Health Challenges
At that show, Ball performed in a mobility chair, as he had for the previous couple of years, following a period of ill-health.
"I ended up damage myself significantly," he stated in 2023. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my spine and cracked about multiple ribs and fractured my arm."
After contracting a lung infection and suffering from sepsis, he was placed in an medically-induced sleep and remained in the hospital for seven months.
However, he had been in "high spirits emotionally" over the summer, as he worked on a new album with Almond, called Danceteria, which is set for publication in the coming year.
"He was focused and very pleased with the new album that we actually completed only a few days ago," said the vocalist in a heartfelt message.
"It's so sad as next year was all set to be such an uplifting year for him, and I take some solace from the fact that he heard the finished record and felt that it was a masterpiece."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond referred to his bandmate as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", stating: "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 part of my life and for the music you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without you."
Richard Norris from The Grid, shared his condolences, remembering 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 added.
"That's how it was with us. We went through so many extraordinary, incredible, memorable moments as a team. Many thanks, Dave."
Formative Years
Brought into the world into a single-parent household in Chester in the late 50s, Ball was put up for adoption when he was 18 months old.
He grew up in the seaside town with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who altered 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 fine arts. Fuelled by a mutual passion of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the very year, and quickly recorded an EP.
Musical Partnership
The duo were an distinctive pairing: Ball was the reserved technician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a charismatic showman, all glitter and makeup; but they attained a rare creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with synthesizers after viewing the band Kraftwerk perform on a television science show Tomorrow's World, and began to marry moody electronic sounds to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.
Their signature song became the United Kingdom's second most popular single of the early 80s, shifting millions of units worldwide. Together with successful tracks by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it contributed to cleared the path for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.
The track was also featured on their full-length debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which spawned two additional high-charting singles: 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
Fame had its upsides. "I enjoyed being able to purchase my first home, having money and travelling, which makes me sound like a Miss World," Ball recently told with a music magazine.
But it also caused problems. "Sudden riches meant we could afford newfound drugs to alleviate the boredom" of press appearances and television shows, Ball said.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a valid cause, because it works for so many musicians."
During the hedonistic lifestyle, the pair were also drifting apart, but they managed to create a second memorable record - the wayward, edgy and aptly-titled 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 other projects.
Almond proceeded to have a prosperous individual path, featuring the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who mixed acid house with ambient pop over a enduring collaboration.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell came back together in 2001, releasing the charting album Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following a further hiatus, they reappeared 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.
Yet, they stayed active, recording their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic restrictions.
Ball lately described the band's upcoming release as a homage to the New York club scene they visited while making their first two albums.
He added that his time in hospital had shaped the group's music.
"I experienced strange recollections when I was in and out of the hospital because I was on morphine," he told a publication.
"Our latest tracks are a electronic representation of the noises in my mind from those days.
"In parallel, it's about the experiences me and Marc got up to in the 1980s."
The last versions were completed only a short time before Ball passed away. It is due for release in the spring of 2026.
