Dave Ball, one half of the pioneering 1980s synth-pop duo Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Alongside vocalist Marc Almond, the duo scored a worldwide hit with their version of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in 1984, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a seminal work of electronic music.
He later formed the innovative techno group The Grid, who achieved chart success with their 1994 single the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully in his rest at his residence in London on October 22, just weeks after playing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in Henley-on-Thames.
Recent Health Challenges
During that performance, Ball appeared in a mobility chair, as he had for the last two years, following a spate of ill-health.
"I ended up injure myself significantly," he stated in 2023. "I broke lower vertebrae in my spine and fractured about multiple ribs and fractured my wrist."
After catching a lung infection and developing blood poisoning, he was placed in an induced coma and stayed in hospital for half a year.
However, he had been in "a great place mentally" over the warmer months, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is set for publication next year.
"He was focused and very pleased with the latest project that we actually completed only a short time ago," stated the vocalist in a tribute.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was completely planned to be such an uplifting time for him, and I find comfort from the fact that he listened to the completed album and felt that it was a masterpiece."
Tributes
Almond described his bandmate as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", stating: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our body of work.
"Thank you Dave for being an immense part of my existence and for the songs you gave 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 "unwavering friendship".
"Being in a duo with someone is different from being in a band, the bond is very tight," he continued.
"That's how it was with us. We went through so many extraordinary, extraordinary, life-affirming experiences as a team. Thank you, Dave."
Formative Years
Born into a single-parent household in the city of Chester in 1959, Ball was put up for adoption when he was a year and a half of age.
He grew up in Blackpool with adoptive parents his caregivers, who altered his given name from his birth name to his adopted name, alongside his younger sister his sister, who was similarly welcomed.
He met Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both studying fine arts. Inspired by a mutual passion of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the same year, and quickly produced an EP.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an unusual pairing: Ball was the quiet technician, hunched over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they attained a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with synthesizers after viewing Kraftwerk appear on BBC science show Tomorrow's World, and began to combine moody electronic sounds to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.
Their signature song became the UK's second most popular single of 1981, shifting millions of units worldwide. Together with hits by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it helped cleared the way for the electronic music style of the 80s.
The song was also included 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 separate release, Torch, which reached at the second position in the following year.
Career Highlights
Fame had its upsides. "I enjoyed being able to afford my initial property, having financial security and travelling, which might seem like a beauty queen," Ball recently shared with a music magazine.
But it also presented problems. "Sudden riches allowed we could purchase substances to alleviate the boredom" of press appearances and TV performances, Ball said.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a valid cause, because it works for so many musicians."
Amidst the party-filled existence, the duo were also drifting apart, but they succeeded to create a follow-up classic album - the wayward, edgy 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 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 created The Grid, who mixed acid house with ambient pop over a long-lasting collaboration.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell came back together in 2001, releasing the charting album Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following a further hiatus, 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 farewell show at the O2 Arena on 30 September, 2018.
Yet, they remained active, recording their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.
Ball lately described the duo's upcoming release as a tribute to the New York club scene they visited while making their first two albums.
He added that his period in medical care had shaped the band's sound.
"I had strange recollections when I was coming and going of hospital because I was on pain medication," he told a music magazine.
"The new songs are a digital reflection of the sounds in my head from those days.
"In parallel, it's about the times we had in the 80s."
The last versions were finished only days before Ball died. It is due for release in Spring 2026.
