Dave Ball, a key member of the pioneering 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Alongside vocalist Marc Almond, the team achieved a worldwide hit with their cover of Gloria Jones' 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 pioneering electronic act The Grid, who secured chart success with their 1994 single Swamp Thing.
Ball died peacefully 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 music event in the Thames-side town.
Health Struggles
During that show, Ball performed in a wheelchair, as he had for the last two years, after a spate of health issues.
"I managed to damage myself quite a bit," he commented in 2023. "I broke spinal bones in my back and fractured about five ribs and fractured my wrist."
Following contracting pneumonia and developing sepsis, he was placed in an induced coma and stayed in hospital for seven months.
Nevertheless, he had been in "a great place mentally" during the summer, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is set for release in the coming year.
"He was concentrated and so happy with the new album that we literally completed only a few days ago," stated the vocalist in a heartfelt message.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was completely planned to be such an positive year for him, and I find comfort from the fact that he listened to the completed album and believed that it was a masterpiece."
Heartfelt Messages
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 existence and for the music you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without you."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, shared his condolences, remembering Ball's "constant humor" and "steadfast support".
"Being in a partnership with someone is distinct from joining a group, the bond is very tight," he added.
"That was the case with us. We experienced so many extraordinary, extraordinary, life-affirming experiences together. Many thanks, Dave."
Early Life
Born into a single-parent household in Chester in 1959, Ball was put up for adoption when he was a year and a half old.
He grew up in Blackpool with his new family his caregivers, 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 learning fine arts. Fuelled by a shared love of Northern Soul, they established Soft Cell the same year, and promptly produced an EP.
Musical Partnership
The duo were an unusual pairing: Ball was the quiet technician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant showman, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they achieved a unique creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with electronic instruments after viewing Kraftwerk perform on a television science show a popular series, and started to combine moody electronic sounds to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second biggest-selling song of 1981, shifting 21 million copies worldwide. Together with hits by other artists, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it contributed to paved the path for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The song was also featured on their full-length debut, their initial LP, which produced two further high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the album up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which reached at the second position in the following year.
Career Highlights
Success had its benefits. "I enjoyed being able to afford my first home, having financial security and travelling, which might seem like a beauty queen," Ball not long ago shared with a music magazine.
But it also caused problems. "Newfound wealth meant we could purchase newfound drugs to relieve the monotony" of press appearances and television shows, Ball said.
"I know that's a common saying, but it's a truism for a valid cause, because it applies for so many musicians."
Amidst the hedonistic lifestyle, the duo were also growing distant, but they succeeded to produce a follow-up memorable record - the unconventional, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out another LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the group to focus on individual endeavors.
Almond went on to have a successful solo career, 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 long-lasting collaboration.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, releasing the charting record Cruelty Without Beauty.
After a further break, they returned in 2018, releasing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was intended to be a final performance at the large venue on 30 September, that year.
However, they remained active, recording their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic restrictions.
Ball recently described the duo's upcoming release as a homage to the NYC nightlife they visited while recording their first two albums.
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 morphine," he told a music magazine.
"Our latest tracks are a digital reflection of the noises in my mind from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences we had in the 1980s."
The final mixes were completed only days before Ball died. It is scheduled for release in Spring 2026.
