Dave Ball, one half of the pioneering 1980s synth-pop band Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Alongside vocalist Marc Almond, the team scored a global success 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 innovative electronic act The Grid, who secured chart success with their 1994 single Swamp Thing.
Ball died peacefully in his rest at his residence in London on Wednesday 22 October, only a short time after playing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in Henley-on-Thames.
Recent Health Challenges
During that show, Ball performed in a mobility chair, as he had for the previous couple of years, following a spate of health issues.
"I ended up damage myself quite a bit," he commented in 2023. "I fractured spinal bones in my spine and fractured about multiple ribs and broke my wrist."
Following catching pneumonia and suffering from sepsis, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and stayed in hospital for half a year.
Nevertheless, he had been in "a great place emotionally" over the warmer months, as he was developing a new album with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is scheduled for release in the coming year.
"He was focused and so happy with the new album that we actually finished only a few days ago," stated the singer in a heartfelt message.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was all set to be such an positive time for him, and I take some solace from the fact that he heard the completed album and believed that it was a masterpiece."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond described his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant musical genius", adding: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our body of work.
"Many thanks Dave for being an immense part of my existence and for the music you gave me. I wouldn't be where I am without your influence."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, shared his condolences, remembering Ball's "endless laughter" and "steadfast support".
"Forming a partnership with someone is distinct from being in a band, the connection is incredibly close," he continued.
"That was the case with us. We experienced so many extraordinary, extraordinary, memorable experiences together. Thank you, 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 of age.
He was raised in Blackpool with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who altered his given name from Paul to David, alongside his sibling Susan, who was similarly welcomed.
He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both learning art. Fuelled by a mutual passion of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the very year, and quickly produced an extended play.
Creative Collaboration
The duo were an unusual pairing: Ball was the quiet technician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a charismatic showman, all glitter and makeup; but they attained a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with electronic instruments after viewing the band Kraftwerk perform on a television science show a popular series, and started to combine moody electronic sounds to the catchy tunes Almond was composing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second most popular single of 1981, selling millions of units worldwide. Alongside hits by other artists, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it contributed to cleared the way for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The song was also included on their first album, their initial LP, which spawned two further top five hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the album up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at number two in the following year.
Professional Journey
Fame had its upsides. "I enjoyed being able to purchase my first home, having financial security and travelling, which makes me sound like a Miss World," Ball recently shared with a music magazine.
But it also presented challenges. "Newfound wealth meant we could afford substances to alleviate the monotony" of media interviews and television shows, Ball explained.
"I know that's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a good reason, because it works for so many musicians."
Amidst the hedonistic lifestyle, the pair were also drifting apart, but they managed to create a follow-up classic album - the unconventional, edgy and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out one more LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group to concentrate on other projects.
Almond went on to have a prosperous individual path, including the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who mixed dance music with ambient pop over a long-lasting collaboration.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, producing the charting album Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following another hiatus, they returned in recent years, issuing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was supposed to be a farewell show at the O2 Arena on September 30, that year.
Yet, they stayed together, recording their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.
Ball recently characterized the duo's new album as a tribute to the NYC nightlife they visited while making their initial records.
He added that his time in medical care had shaped the group's music.
"I had unusual memories when I was coming and going of hospital because I was on morphine," he explained to a publication.
"The new songs are a electronic representation of the sounds in my mind from those days.
"In parallel, it's about the experiences we got up to in the 1980s."
The final mixes were finished only a short time before Ball died. It is due for release in Spring 2026.
