Dave Ball, one half of the groundbreaking 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the duo scored a worldwide hit with their cover of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their debut album their initial full-length release is considered a classic of electronic music.
He subsequently formed the pioneering techno group The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with their 1994 single the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his rest at his home in London on October 22, just weeks after performing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in the Thames-side town.
Health Struggles
During that show, Ball appeared in a mobility chair, as he had for the previous couple of years, following a period of ill-health.
"I managed to damage myself quite a bit," he commented in a recent interview. "I broke spinal bones in my spine and fractured about multiple ribs and fractured my arm."
Following catching a lung infection and suffering from blood poisoning, he was placed in an medically-induced sleep and stayed in the hospital for half a year.
However, he had been in "high spirits mentally" during the summer, as he was developing a new album with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is set for release next year.
"He was concentrated and so happy with the latest project that we literally completed only a short time ago," said the singer 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 knowledge that he heard the finished record and believed that it was a masterpiece."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond referred to his bandmate as "a wonderfully brilliant musical genius", adding: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our legacy.
"Many thanks 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, remembering Ball's "endless laughter" and "steadfast support".
"Being in a duo 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 moments as a team. Many thanks, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a single-parent household in Chester in the late 50s, Ball was put up for adoption when he was 18 months old.
He was raised in Blackpool with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who altered his given name from his birth name to his adopted name, alongside his younger sister Susan, who was also adopted.
He encountered Almond at an art college in the late 70s, where they were both studying fine arts. Fuelled by a shared love of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the very year, and quickly recorded an EP.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an distinctive combination: Ball was the reserved musician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all glitter and makeup; but they achieved a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had developed a interest with electronic instruments after watching the band Kraftwerk perform on a television program a popular series, and started to marry moody electronic sounds to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second most popular song of the early 80s, selling millions of units globally. Alongside successful tracks by other artists, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it contributed to cleared the way for the synth-pop sound of the 80s.
The track was also included 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 album up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at the second position in the following year.
Career Highlights
Success had its benefits. "I loved being able to purchase my first home, having money and travelling, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball not long ago told with a publication.
But it also presented problems. "Newfound wealth meant we could purchase substances to alleviate the monotony" of press appearances and television shows, Ball explained.
"I realize that's a common saying, but it's a cliché for a valid cause, because it works for so many bands."
During the party-filled existence, the duo were also drifting apart, but they managed to create a second memorable record - the unconventional, edgy and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released another album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group to focus on individual endeavors.
Almond went on to have a successful individual path, including the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who combined acid house with ambient pop over a long-lasting partnership.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell came back together in the early 2000s, producing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.
After another break, they returned in recent years, issuing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was supposed to be a final performance at the large venue on September 30, that year.
However, they stayed together, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.
Ball lately described the duo's new album as a tribute to the New York club scene they visited while recording their first two albums.
He added that his time in hospital had shaped the band's sound.
"I had strange recollections when I was in and out of the hospital because I was on pain medication," he explained to a music magazine.
"Our latest tracks are a electronic representation of the noises in my mind from those days.
"In parallel, it's about the times me and Marc had in the 1980s."
The last versions were finished only days before Ball died. It is due for release in Spring 2026.
