Dave Ball, a key member of the groundbreaking 1980s synth-pop duo Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Together with singer Marc Almond, the pair scored a worldwide hit with their cover of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a seminal work of electronic music.
He subsequently formed the innovative electronic act The Grid, who secured chart success with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball died calmly in his rest at his home in London on October 22, only a short time after performing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in Henley-on-Thames.
Health Struggles
At that performance, Ball performed in a wheelchair, as he had for the last two years, following a spate of health issues.
"I managed to damage myself quite a bit," he stated in a recent interview. "I fractured spinal bones in my back and fractured about multiple ribs and fractured my arm."
After contracting pneumonia and developing blood poisoning, he was placed in an induced coma and stayed in the hospital for seven months.
However, he had been in "high spirits emotionally" during the summer, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, called Danceteria, which is scheduled for release next year.
"He was focused and very pleased with the new album that we actually finished only a few days ago," said the singer in a tribute.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was completely planned to be such an uplifting time for him, and I take some solace from the fact that he heard the finished record and believed that it was a masterpiece."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond described 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 aspect of my life and for the songs you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without your influence."
Richard Norris from The Grid, also paid tribute, remembering Ball's "constant humor" and "steadfast support".
"Being in a duo with someone is different from being in a group, the bond is very tight," he added.
"That's how it was with us. We went through so many extraordinary, incredible, life-affirming moments together. Thank you, Dave."
Formative Years
Brought into the world into a one-parent family in the city of Chester in the late 50s, Ball was given up for adoption when he was a year and a half of age.
He was raised in Blackpool with his new family his caregivers, who changed his given name from Paul to his adopted name, alongside his sibling his sister, 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 formed Soft Cell the very year, and quickly recorded an extended play.
Musical Partnership
The duo were an distinctive combination: Ball was the reserved technician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic showman, all glitter and eye-liner; but they achieved a rare musical alchemy.
Ball had developed a fascination with electronic instruments after viewing the band Kraftwerk appear on a television program a popular series, and started to marry dark electronica to the catchy tunes Almond was composing.
Their signature song became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling single of 1981, selling 21 million units globally. Together with hits by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it contributed to cleared the way for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The song was also featured on their first album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which spawned two further high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the record up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which peaked at number two in 1982.
Career Highlights
Success had its benefits. "I loved being able to purchase my initial property, having money and travelling, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball not long ago told with a music magazine.
But it also caused problems. "Newfound wealth allowed we could afford newfound drugs to relieve the monotony" of press appearances and television shows, Ball explained.
"I know that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a good reason, because it applies for so many bands."
Amidst the hedonistic lifestyle, the duo were also drifting apart, but they succeeded to produce a follow-up memorable record - the wayward, edgy and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out another album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the group to focus on individual endeavors.
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 dance music with melodic sounds over a enduring partnership.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell came back together in 2001, releasing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.
After another 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 farewell show at the O2 Arena on 30 September, 2018.
Yet, they remained active, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.
Ball recently characterized the duo's new album as a tribute to the New York club scene they visited while recording their initial records.
He noted that his period in hospital had shaped the group's music.
"I experienced unusual memories when I was coming and going of the hospital because I was on pain medication," he explained to a publication.
"Our latest tracks are a electronic representation of the noises in my mind from those days.
"In parallel, it's about the times me and Marc got up to in the 1980s."
The final mixes were completed only days before Ball died. It is due for launch in the spring of 2026.
