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 the mid-80s, and their debut album their initial full-length release is regarded as a seminal work of electronic music.
He subsequently founded the pioneering techno group The Grid, who achieved popular acclaim with their 1994 single the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully in his sleep at his residence in London on Wednesday 22 October, just weeks after playing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in Henley-on-Thames.
Health Struggles
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 significantly," he commented in 2023. "I broke lower vertebrae in my spine and cracked about multiple ribs and broke my wrist."
After contracting a lung infection and suffering from blood poisoning, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and stayed in hospital for seven months.
Nevertheless, he had been in "high spirits mentally" over the summer, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, called Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication next year.
"He was concentrated and very pleased with the new album that we actually completed only a few days ago," stated the vocalist in a tribute.
"It's so sad as next year was completely planned to be such an uplifting time for him, and I take some solace from the fact that he heard the completed album and felt that it was a great piece of work."
Tributes
Almond described his collaborator 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 significant part of my existence and for the music you created with me. I wouldn't be where I am without you."
Richard Norris from The Grid, also paid tribute, remembering Ball's "endless laughter" and "unwavering friendship".
"Being in a duo with someone is distinct from joining a band, the connection is very tight," he added.
"That's how it was with us. We experienced so many remarkable, incredible, memorable moments as a team. Many thanks, Dave."
Formative Years
Brought into the world into a single-parent household in the city of Chester in 1959, Ball was put up for adoption when he was 18 months old.
He was raised in the seaside town with his new family his caregivers, who changed his first name from his birth name to David, alongside his sibling Susan, who was similarly welcomed.
He encountered Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both learning art. Inspired by a shared love of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and promptly recorded an extended play.
Creative Collaboration
The pair were an distinctive combination: Ball was the quiet musician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a charismatic showman, all sparkle and makeup; but they attained a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with electronic instruments after watching the band Kraftwerk perform on a television science show a popular series, and began to marry moody electronic sounds to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.
Their signature song became the UK's second most popular song of 1981, selling millions of units worldwide. Together with hits by other artists, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it helped paved the path for the electronic music style of the 80s.
The song was also featured on their full-length debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which produced two further high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the record up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at the second position in 1982.
Career Highlights
Fame had its benefits. "I loved being able to purchase my initial property, having financial security and exploring, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball not long ago shared with a publication.
But it also caused challenges. "Sudden riches allowed we could afford 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 good reason, because it works for so many bands."
During the hedonistic lifestyle, the pair were also drifting apart, but they succeeded to create a second memorable record - the wayward, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out one more LP, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group to concentrate on individual endeavors.
Almond went on to have a prosperous solo career, featuring the top 10 hit 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 came back together in 2001, releasing the charting album Cruelty Without Beauty.
After another 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 O2 Arena on 30 September, that year.
However, they stayed together, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.
Ball lately described the band's new album as a homage to the NYC nightlife they frequented while recording their initial records.
He added that his time in medical care had influenced the band's sound.
"I experienced unusual memories when I was in and out of hospital because I was on pain medication," he told a music magazine.
"Our latest tracks are a digital reflection of the sounds in my head from those days.
"In parallel, it's about the experiences me and Marc got up to in the 1980s."
The last versions were completed only days before Ball died. It is scheduled for release in the spring of 2026.
