Dave Ball, one half of the groundbreaking 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Together with vocalist Marc Almond, the team achieved a global success with their version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a classic of electronic music.
He later formed the innovative electronic act The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with their 1994 single Swamp Thing.
Ball died calmly 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 music event in Henley-on-Thames.
Health Struggles
During that show, Ball appeared in a mobility chair, as he had for the previous couple of years, following a spate of ill-health.
"I ended up damage myself quite a bit," he commented in 2023. "I broke spinal bones in my spine and fractured about five ribs and broke my arm."
Following catching pneumonia and developing blood poisoning, he was placed in an induced coma and stayed in hospital for half a year.
However, he had been in "high spirits emotionally" during the summer, as he was developing a new album with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is set for publication in the coming year.
"He was concentrated and very pleased with the latest project that we actually finished only a short time ago," said the vocalist in a tribute.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was all set to be such an uplifting year for him, and I take some solace from the fact that he listened to the completed album and felt that it was a great piece of work."
Tributes
Almond referred to his collaborator as "an exceptionally talented creative mastermind", adding: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our body of work.
"Many thanks Dave for being an significant part of my existence and for the songs you gave me. I wouldn't be where I am without you."
Richard Norris from The Grid, shared his condolences, remembering Ball's "endless laughter" and "unwavering friendship".
"Forming a duo with someone is different from joining a group, the bond is incredibly close," he added.
"That's how it was with us. We experienced so many remarkable, incredible, life-affirming experiences as a team. Thank you, Dave."
Formative Years
Born into a one-parent family in Chester in 1959, Ball was put up for adoption when he was a year and a half old.
He grew up in Blackpool with his new family his caregivers, who altered his given name from his birth name to his adopted name, alongside his sibling Susan, who was similarly welcomed.
He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in the late 70s, where they were both studying fine arts. Fuelled by a mutual passion of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the very year, and quickly produced an extended play.
Creative Collaboration
The duo were an distinctive pairing: Ball was the quiet technician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all glitter and eye-liner; but they attained a rare creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with synthesizers after watching Kraftwerk perform on a television science show a popular series, and started to marry moody electronic sounds to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.
Their signature song became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling single of 1981, shifting millions of units globally. Together with hits by other artists, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it contributed to cleared the way for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The song was also featured on their full-length debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which spawned two further top five hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the album up with the separate release, Torch, which peaked at number two in the following year.
Career Highlights
Success had its benefits. "I loved being able to purchase my first home, having money and travelling, which makes me sound like a Miss World," Ball not long ago told with a publication.
But it also presented challenges. "Newfound wealth allowed we could purchase newfound drugs to alleviate the monotony" of press appearances and TV performances, Ball said.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a good reason, because it applies for so many bands."
During the hedonistic lifestyle, the duo were also growing distant, but they managed to create a second memorable record - the wayward, edgy and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out another LP, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the band to concentrate on individual endeavors.
Almond proceeded to have a successful solo career, including the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who combined dance music with ambient pop over a enduring partnership.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, producing the charting record Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following another hiatus, they reappeared in recent years, issuing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was intended to be a final performance at the O2 Arena on 30 September, 2018.
Yet, they stayed together, recording their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.
Ball recently characterized the band's new album as a homage to the New York club scene they visited while recording their first two albums.
He added that his time in hospital had shaped the band's sound.
"I experienced unusual memories when I was coming and going of the hospital because I was on morphine," he told a music magazine.
"The new songs are a digital reflection of the noises in my mind from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences me and Marc got up to in the 1980s."
The final mixes were completed only a short time before Ball died. It is due for release in Spring 2026.
