Dave Ball, one half of the innovative 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Together with singer Marc Almond, the team scored a worldwide hit with their cover of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in 1984, and their debut album their initial full-length release is regarded as a seminal work of electronic music.
He later founded the innovative techno group The Grid, who achieved popular acclaim with their 1994 single Swamp Thing.
Ball died calmly in his rest at his home in London on Wednesday 22 October, only a short time after playing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in the Thames-side town.
Health Struggles
At that show, Ball performed in a wheelchair, as he had for the previous couple of years, following a spate of ill-health.
"I ended up injure myself quite a bit," he stated in a recent interview. "I fractured spinal bones in my spine and cracked about multiple ribs and fractured my wrist."
After catching a lung infection and developing sepsis, he was placed in an medically-induced sleep and remained in hospital for seven months.
However, he had been in "high spirits emotionally" over the warmer months, as he was developing a fresh record with Almond, titled the upcoming Danceteria, which is scheduled for release next year.
"He was concentrated and very pleased with the latest project that we literally completed only a short time ago," said the singer in a heartfelt message.
"It's so sad as next year was all set to be such an positive year for him, and I find comfort from the knowledge that he heard the completed album and felt that it was a masterpiece."
Tributes
Almond referred to his collaborator as "an exceptionally talented creative mastermind", stating: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our body of work.
"Many thanks Dave for being an immense aspect of my life and for the songs you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without you."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, also paid tribute, recalling Ball's "constant humor" and "unwavering friendship".
"Being in a partnership 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, extraordinary, life-affirming experiences as a team. 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 a year and a half of age.
He was raised in Blackpool with adoptive parents his caregivers, who altered his first name from his birth name to David, alongside his younger sister his sister, who was also adopted.
He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in the late 70s, where they were both studying fine arts. Inspired by a mutual passion of Northern Soul, they established Soft Cell the very year, and promptly produced an extended play.
Creative Collaboration
The pair were an unusual combination: Ball was the reserved technician, hunched over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all glitter and makeup; but they attained a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had developed a interest with electronic instruments after viewing the band Kraftwerk appear on BBC science show a popular series, and started to marry moody electronic sounds to the catchy tunes Almond was composing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second most popular single of 1981, selling millions of units worldwide. Together with successful tracks by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it helped cleared the path for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The track was also featured on their full-length debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which produced two additional top five hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the record up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which peaked at the second position in the following year.
Career Highlights
Success had its upsides. "I enjoyed being able to purchase my first home, having money and exploring, which makes me sound like a Miss World," Ball not long ago shared with a publication.
But it also presented problems. "Newfound wealth allowed we could purchase newfound drugs to alleviate the boredom" of media interviews and TV performances, Ball explained.
"I realize that's a common saying, but it's a cliché for a valid cause, because it applies for so many bands."
During the party-filled existence, the duo were also drifting apart, but they managed to produce a follow-up classic album - the wayward, edgy and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out another LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the group to concentrate on other projects.
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 collaboration.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell came back together in the early 2000s, producing the Top 40 album Cruelty Without Beauty.
After a further hiatus, they returned in recent years, 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, that year.
Yet, they stayed together, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic restrictions.
Ball lately described the duo's new album as a homage to the New York club scene they frequented while recording their first two albums.
He added that his period in medical care had influenced the band's sound.
"I had strange recollections when I was coming and going of hospital because I was on morphine," he told a music magazine.
"The new songs are a electronic representation of the sounds in my head from those days.
"In parallel, it's about the times me and Marc got up to in the 1980s."
The last versions were completed only days before Ball died. It is due for launch in Spring 2026.
