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' the classic track Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a classic of synth-pop.
He later founded the pioneering 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 residence 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
At that performance, Ball performed in a mobility chair, 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 broke spinal bones in my back and fractured about multiple ribs and fractured my wrist."
Following contracting pneumonia and suffering from blood poisoning, he was put in an induced coma and stayed in the hospital for seven months.
However, he had been in "a great place emotionally" during the summer, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is scheduled for release in the coming year.
"He was concentrated and so happy with the latest project that we actually completed only a few days ago," stated the singer in a tribute.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was all set to be such an positive time for him, and I take some solace from the knowledge that he listened to the finished record and believed that it was a masterpiece."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond referred to his collaborator as "an exceptionally talented 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 music you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without your influence."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, also paid tribute, recalling Ball's "constant humor" and "steadfast support".
"Forming a partnership with someone is different from being in a band, the bond is incredibly close," he continued.
"That's how it was with us. We experienced so many remarkable, extraordinary, life-affirming experiences together. Thank you, Dave."
Formative Years
Brought into the world into a single-parent household in Chester in 1959, Ball was given up for adoption when he was a year and a half old.
He grew up in Blackpool with adoptive parents his caregivers, who altered his given name from Paul to David, together with his younger sister Susan, who was similarly welcomed.
He met Almond at an art college 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 recorded an EP.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an distinctive combination: Ball was the reserved technician, hunched over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all sparkle and makeup; but they achieved a unique creative synergy.
Ball had developed a interest with synthesizers after watching Kraftwerk perform on a television science show Tomorrow's World, and began to marry dark electronica to the catchy tunes Almond was composing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second biggest-selling single of 1981, selling millions of copies worldwide. Alongside successful tracks by other artists, Human League and electronic acts, it contributed to cleared the path for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.
The track was also included on their full-length debut, their initial LP, which spawned two further top five hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the record up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at the second position in the following year.
Professional Journey
Fame had its upsides. "I enjoyed being able to purchase my first home, having money and exploring, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball not long ago shared with a music magazine.
But it also presented problems. "Sudden riches meant we could purchase newfound drugs to relieve the boredom" of media interviews and television shows, Ball explained.
"I know 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 drifting apart, but they succeeded to create a follow-up memorable record - the unconventional, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released one more LP, their 1984 release 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 chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who combined dance music with ambient pop over a enduring collaboration.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, producing the charting album Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following 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 final performance at the large venue on 30 September, that year.
However, they stayed active, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic restrictions.
Ball lately characterized the duo's upcoming release as a homage to the New York club scene they visited while making their first two albums.
He added that his period in hospital had shaped the band's sound.
"I experienced unusual memories 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 that time.
"In parallel, it's about the experiences we got up to in the 1980s."
The final mixes were completed only a short time before Ball died. It is scheduled for launch in the spring of 2026.
