Dave Ball, a key member of the innovative 1980s synth-pop duo Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Alongside vocalist Marc Almond, the team achieved a global success with their version of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a seminal work of electronic music.
He later founded the pioneering electronic act The Grid, who achieved popular acclaim with their 1994 single the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball died peacefully in his sleep at his home in London on October 22, just weeks after performing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in Henley-on-Thames.
Health Struggles
At that performance, Ball performed in a mobility chair, as he had for the last two years, after a spate of health issues.
"I managed to injure myself significantly," he stated in 2023. "I broke lower vertebrae in my back and cracked about five ribs and fractured my wrist."
After catching a lung infection and developing sepsis, he was placed in an medically-induced sleep and remained in the hospital for half a year.
Nevertheless, he had been in "high spirits mentally" during the summer, as he was developing a fresh record with Almond, called Danceteria, which is set for release next year.
"He was focused and so happy with the new album that we literally completed only a few days ago," stated the vocalist in a heartfelt message.
"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 fact that he heard the completed album and felt that it was a great piece of work."
Tributes
Almond referred to his bandmate 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 existence and for the songs you created with me. I wouldn't be where I am without your influence."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, shared his condolences, recalling Ball's "endless laughter" and "steadfast support".
"Being in a partnership with someone is distinct from joining a group, the connection is very tight," he continued.
"That's how it was with us. We experienced so many remarkable, incredible, memorable experiences as a team. Thank you, Dave."
Formative Years
Born into a single-parent household in the city of Chester in the late 50s, Ball was given up for adoption when he was a year and a half 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 his sister, who was similarly welcomed.
He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both learning art. Fuelled by a mutual passion of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the very year, and promptly recorded an EP.
Musical Partnership
The duo were an unusual combination: Ball was the quiet musician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant showman, all sparkle and makeup; but they attained a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with synthesizers after watching Kraftwerk perform on a television science show a popular series, and began to marry moody electronic sounds to the catchy tunes Almond was composing.
Their signature song became the UK's second biggest-selling single of 1981, shifting millions of units worldwide. Together with successful tracks by other artists, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it contributed to cleared the way for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The song was also included on their full-length debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which spawned two additional top five singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the record up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which reached at the second position in 1982.
Career Highlights
Success had its benefits. "I enjoyed being able to purchase my initial property, having financial security and travelling, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball recently shared with a publication.
But it also presented challenges. "Sudden riches meant we could purchase newfound drugs to alleviate the boredom" of media interviews and television shows, Ball said.
"I know that's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a valid cause, because it applies for so many bands."
During the party-filled existence, the pair were also drifting apart, but they succeeded to create a follow-up classic album - the unconventional, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released another LP, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the group to focus on individual endeavors.
Almond went on to have a successful solo career, featuring the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who mixed dance music with melodic sounds over a long-lasting partnership.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, producing the charting record Cruelty Without Beauty.
After a further break, they returned in recent years, releasing the original singles 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 stayed together, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.
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 added that his time in medical care had shaped the band's sound.
"I had 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 that time.
"In parallel, it's about the experiences we got up to in the 80s."
The final mixes were completed only a short time before Ball died. It is due for release in the spring of 2026.
