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 worldwide hit with their cover 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 formed the innovative techno group The Grid, who secured chart success with their 1994 single Swamp Thing.
Ball died calmly in his rest at his home in London on October 22, only a short time after playing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in the Thames-side town.
Health Struggles
During that show, Ball appeared in a wheelchair, as he had for the last two years, following a period of ill-health.
"I ended up injure myself significantly," he stated in 2023. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my back and cracked about multiple ribs and broke my arm."
After catching a lung infection and developing blood poisoning, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and remained in hospital for half a year.
However, he had been in "high spirits mentally" during the summer, as he was developing a new album with Almond, titled 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," stated the singer in a heartfelt message.
"It's so sad as next year was completely planned to be such an uplifting time for him, and I find comfort from the knowledge that he heard the finished record and felt that it was a great piece of work."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond described his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", adding: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our legacy.
"Many thanks Dave for being an significant aspect of my life and for the songs you gave me. I wouldn't be where I am without you."
Richard Norris from The Grid, also paid tribute, recalling Ball's "endless laughter" and "steadfast support".
"Being in a partnership with someone is different from joining a band, the connection is incredibly close," he added.
"That's how it was with us. We experienced so many remarkable, extraordinary, life-affirming experiences together. Many thanks, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a one-parent family in Chester in the late 50s, Ball was given up for adoption when he was 18 months of age.
He grew up in Blackpool with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who altered his given name from his birth name to his adopted name, together with his younger sister Susan, who was also adopted.
He met Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both studying art. Inspired by a shared love of Northern Soul, they established Soft Cell the very year, and promptly produced an EP.
Creative Collaboration
The pair were an unusual pairing: Ball was the quiet musician, hunched over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant showman, all sparkle and makeup; but they attained a unique creative synergy.
Ball had developed a fascination with synthesizers after watching the band Kraftwerk perform on BBC program Tomorrow's World, and started to combine dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second most popular single of the early 80s, selling millions of units worldwide. Together with successful tracks by other artists, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it helped cleared the way for the synth-pop sound of the 80s.
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
Fame had its upsides. "I loved being able to afford my first home, having financial security and travelling, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball not long ago told with a publication.
But it also presented challenges. "Sudden riches allowed we could purchase newfound drugs to alleviate the boredom" of press appearances and TV performances, Ball explained.
"I realize that's a common saying, but it's a truism 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 produce a second classic album - the wayward, edgy and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released one more LP, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band to focus on individual endeavors.
Almond went on to have a successful individual path, featuring the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who combined acid house with ambient pop over a enduring collaboration.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell came back together in 2001, producing the Top 40 album Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following 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 O2 Arena on September 30, that year.
Yet, they stayed together, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.
Ball recently described the duo's upcoming release as a tribute to the NYC nightlife they visited while making their initial records.
He added that his period in hospital had shaped the band's sound.
"I experienced unusual memories when I was in and out of hospital because I was on pain medication," he told a music magazine.
"Our latest tracks are a digital reflection of the sounds in my head from that time.
"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences we had in the 1980s."
The last versions were finished only days before Ball died. It is scheduled for release in Spring 2026.
