Dave Ball, a key member of the innovative 1980s synth-pop band Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the pair achieved a global success with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in 1984, and their first record their initial full-length release is considered a seminal work of electronic music.
He later formed the innovative electronic act The Grid, who secured chart success with 1994's Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully in his rest at his residence in London on Wednesday 22 October, only a short time after playing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in Henley-on-Thames.
Health Struggles
At that show, Ball appeared in a mobility chair, as he had for the previous couple of years, following a period of ill-health.
"I ended up injure myself significantly," he commented in 2023. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my back and cracked about five ribs and broke my arm."
After contracting pneumonia and developing blood poisoning, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and remained in the hospital for seven months.
However, he had been in "a great place mentally" during the summer, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, called Danceteria, which is set for publication in the coming year.
"He was concentrated and very pleased with the latest project that we literally completed only a few days ago," said the vocalist in a heartfelt message.
"It's so sad as next year was all set to be such an positive year for him, and I find comfort from the knowledge that he heard the finished record and felt that it was a masterpiece."
Tributes
Almond described his collaborator 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 significant part of my existence and for the music you created with me. I wouldn'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 duo with someone is distinct from joining a band, the connection is incredibly close," he added.
"That was the case with us. We experienced so many extraordinary, extraordinary, memorable experiences as a team. Many thanks, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a single-parent household in the city of Chester in 1959, Ball was given up for adoption when he was a year and a half old.
He grew up in the seaside town 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 Leeds Polytechnic in the late 70s, where they were both learning fine arts. Fuelled by a shared love of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the same year, and quickly recorded an EP.
Creative Collaboration
The duo were an distinctive combination: Ball was the reserved technician, hunched over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all glitter and eye-liner; but they achieved a unique creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with synthesizers after watching Kraftwerk appear on a television program Tomorrow's World, and started to combine moody electronic sounds to the catchy tunes Almond was composing.
Their signature song became the UK's second most popular song of the early 80s, shifting millions of units worldwide. Alongside successful tracks by Gary Numan, Human League and Ultravox, 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 produced two further high-charting hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the record up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which peaked at number two 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 Miss World," Ball recently shared with a publication.
But it also presented challenges. "Newfound wealth meant we could purchase substances to alleviate the monotony" of media interviews and television shows, Ball explained.
"I know that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a valid cause, because it works for so many bands."
Amidst the party-filled existence, the pair were also drifting apart, but they succeeded to create a second classic album - 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 band to concentrate on other projects.
Almond proceeded 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 mixed acid house with melodic sounds over a enduring partnership.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, producing the charting album Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following a further hiatus, they reappeared 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, 2018.
However, they stayed active, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.
Ball lately described the duo's new album as a homage to the NYC nightlife they visited while making their first two albums.
He noted 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.
"The new songs are a digital reflection of the sounds in my mind from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the times me and Marc got up to in the 80s."
The final mixes were finished only a short time before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for release in the spring of 2026.
