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 pair scored a global success with their version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record their initial full-length release is considered a seminal work of electronic music.
He subsequently formed the pioneering techno group The Grid, who achieved popular acclaim with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his rest at his residence in London on Wednesday 22 October, just weeks after performing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in Henley-on-Thames.
Health Struggles
During that show, Ball appeared 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 commented in 2023. "I fractured spinal bones in my back and cracked about five ribs and broke my wrist."
After catching a lung infection and developing sepsis, he was put in an induced coma and remained in hospital for seven months.
However, he had been in "a great place emotionally" over the summer, as he worked on a new album with Almond, called Danceteria, which is set for release in the coming year.
"He was focused and so happy with the latest project that we literally completed only a few days ago," stated the singer in a heartfelt message.
"It's so sad as next year was all set to be such an uplifting time for him, and I find comfort from the fact that he heard the completed album and believed that it was a great piece of work."
Tributes
Almond described his bandmate as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", adding: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our body of work.
"Thank you Dave for being an immense aspect of my existence and for the music you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without your influence."
Richard Norris from The Grid, shared his condolences, recalling Ball's "endless laughter" and "steadfast support".
"Forming a partnership with someone is distinct from joining a group, the connection is very tight," he continued.
"That was the case with us. We went through so many remarkable, incredible, memorable experiences as a team. Thank you, Dave."
Early Life
Born into a one-parent family in the city of Chester in the late 50s, Ball was put up for adoption when he was a year and a half of age.
He grew up in Blackpool with his new family Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his first name from Paul to his adopted name, together with his younger sister his sister, who was similarly welcomed.
He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in the late 70s, where they were both studying art. Inspired by a mutual passion of Northern Soul, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and promptly produced an EP.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an unusual combination: Ball was the quiet musician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant showman, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they achieved a rare creative synergy.
Ball had developed a interest with electronic instruments after viewing the band Kraftwerk appear on a television program Tomorrow's World, and began to marry dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling song of 1981, shifting millions of copies globally. Together with successful tracks by other artists, Human League and Ultravox, it contributed to paved the way for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The track was also featured on their full-length debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which spawned two additional high-charting hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the album up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which peaked at the second position in the following year.
Professional Journey
Fame had its upsides. "I enjoyed being able to afford my first home, having financial security and exploring, which might seem like a beauty queen," Ball recently told with a publication.
But it also presented problems. "Sudden riches meant we could purchase newfound drugs to relieve the boredom" of media interviews and TV performances, Ball explained.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a valid cause, because it works for so many bands."
Amidst the hedonistic lifestyle, the duo were also growing distant, but they succeeded to produce a second memorable record - the wayward, edgy and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out one more album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the group to focus on other projects.
Almond proceeded to have a prosperous individual path, including the top 10 hit 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.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell reunited in 2001, releasing the Top 40 album Cruelty Without Beauty.
After another break, they returned in recent years, issuing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was intended to be a final performance at the O2 Arena on September 30, that year.
However, they remained together, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.
Ball lately characterized the duo's new album as a tribute to the New York club scene they visited while making their first two albums.
He noted that his period in hospital had influenced the band's sound.
"I experienced strange recollections when I was coming and going of hospital because I was on morphine," he explained to a music magazine.
"The new songs are a digital reflection of the noises in my head from that time.
"Simultaneously, it's about the times me and Marc got up to in the 80s."
The final mixes were completed only a short time before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for launch in Spring 2026.
