Dave Ball, one half of the groundbreaking 1980s synth-pop band Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the pair achieved a global success with their version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a classic of electronic music.
He later founded the innovative electronic act The Grid, who secured chart success with their 1994 single the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his rest at his home in London on October 22, only a short time after playing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in the Thames-side town.
Recent Health Challenges
During that show, Ball appeared in a mobility chair, as he had for the last two years, after a period of ill-health.
"I managed to damage myself quite a bit," he commented in 2023. "I broke lower vertebrae in my spine and fractured about multiple ribs and broke my arm."
After catching pneumonia and developing sepsis, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and stayed in the hospital for half a year.
Nevertheless, he had been in "high spirits mentally" over the summer, as he was developing a new album with Almond, called the upcoming Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication in the coming year.
"He was concentrated and so happy with the new album that we actually completed only a few days ago," said the vocalist in a heartfelt message.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was all set to be such an positive time for him, and I find comfort from the knowledge that he listened to the finished record and felt that it was a masterpiece."
Tributes
Almond described his bandmate as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", 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 immense part of my life and for the songs you gave me. I couldn't be where I am without your influence."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, also paid tribute, remembering Ball's "endless laughter" and "steadfast support".
"Being in a duo with someone is different from being in a group, the bond is very tight," he continued.
"That was the case with us. We experienced so many remarkable, extraordinary, life-affirming experiences together. Thank you, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a one-parent family in the city of Chester in 1959, Ball was given up for adoption when he was a year and a half old.
He was raised in the seaside town with adoptive parents his caregivers, who altered his given name from his birth name to David, alongside his sibling Susan, who was similarly welcomed.
He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in the late 70s, where they were both learning fine arts. Inspired by a shared love of Northern Soul, they established Soft Cell the very year, and promptly produced an extended play.
Musical Partnership
The duo were an unusual pairing: Ball was the reserved 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 viewing the band Kraftwerk perform on a television program Tomorrow's World, and began to marry dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.
Their signature song became the UK's second biggest-selling single of the early 80s, selling 21 million units worldwide. Together with successful tracks by other artists, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it contributed to cleared the path for the synth-pop sound of the 80s.
The track was also featured on their first album, their initial LP, which spawned two additional top five hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the album up with the separate release, Torch, which peaked at the second position in the following year.
Professional Journey
Success had its upsides. "I loved being able to afford my initial property, having money and exploring, which makes me sound like a Miss World," Ball not long ago told with a publication.
But it also caused problems. "Newfound wealth allowed we could purchase substances to relieve the boredom" of press appearances and TV performances, Ball said.
"I know that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a good reason, because it works for so many musicians."
Amidst the party-filled existence, the duo were also drifting apart, but they managed to create a follow-up classic album - the unconventional, edgy and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out another album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band to concentrate on individual endeavors.
Almond proceeded to have a successful individual path, including the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who mixed dance music with ambient pop over a enduring partnership.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell came back together in the early 2000s, producing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.
After a further break, they reappeared in 2018, releasing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was supposed to be a farewell show at the large venue on September 30, 2018.
However, they remained active, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic restrictions.
Ball lately described the band's new album as a homage to the NYC nightlife they frequented while recording their first two albums.
He added that his time 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 publication.
"Our latest tracks are a electronic representation of the sounds in my mind from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences we had in the 80s."
The last versions were finished only days before Ball died. It is due for release in Spring 2026.
