Dave Ball, a key member of the groundbreaking 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the team scored a worldwide hit with their version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in 1984, and their first record their initial full-length release is regarded as a classic of electronic music.
He later founded the innovative techno group The Grid, who secured chart success with 1994's Swamp Thing.
Ball died peacefully in his sleep at his residence in London on October 22, just weeks after playing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in Henley-on-Thames.
Health Struggles
During that performance, Ball performed in a wheelchair, as he had for the last two years, after a period of health issues.
"I managed to injure myself quite a bit," he commented in a recent interview. "I fractured spinal bones in my spine and cracked about multiple ribs and fractured my arm."
After contracting pneumonia and developing sepsis, he was put in an induced coma and remained in the hospital for half a year.
Nevertheless, he had been in "a great place emotionally" over the summer, as he worked on a new album with Almond, called the upcoming Danceteria, which is set for publication in the coming year.
"He was focused and so happy with the new album that we literally completed only a few days ago," said the vocalist in a heartfelt message.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was completely planned to be such an positive time for him, and I find comfort from the knowledge that he heard the completed album and believed that it was a great piece of work."
Tributes
Almond described his bandmate as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", stating: "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 couldn't be where I am without you."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, also paid tribute, remembering Ball's "endless laughter" and "steadfast support".
"Forming a duo with someone is different from joining a band, the bond is very tight," he added.
"That was the case with us. We went through so many remarkable, extraordinary, life-affirming experiences together. Many thanks, Dave."
Formative Years
Brought into the world into a one-parent family in Chester in 1959, Ball was given up for adoption when he was 18 months old.
He was raised in the seaside town with adoptive parents his caregivers, who changed his given name from his birth name to his adopted name, alongside his sibling Susan, who was also adopted.
He met Almond at an art college in the late 70s, where they were both learning fine arts. Inspired by a shared love of Northern Soul, they established Soft Cell the very year, and quickly produced an EP.
Creative Collaboration
The pair were an unusual pairing: Ball was the reserved technician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they attained a rare creative synergy.
Ball had developed a interest with synthesizers after viewing the band Kraftwerk perform on BBC 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 1981, shifting 21 million copies globally. Alongside successful tracks by other artists, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it helped cleared the way for the electronic music style of the 80s.
The song was also included on their full-length debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which spawned two further top five hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the record up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which reached at the second position in 1982.
Career Highlights
Fame had its upsides. "I loved being able to afford my initial property, having financial security and travelling, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball recently told with a music magazine.
But it also caused challenges. "Newfound wealth meant we could afford newfound drugs to alleviate the monotony" of press appearances and TV performances, Ball explained.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a valid cause, because it applies for so many bands."
Amidst the party-filled existence, the duo were also drifting apart, but they managed to produce a follow-up memorable record - the wayward, edgy and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released another LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group to concentrate on other projects.
Almond proceeded 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 combined acid house with melodic sounds over a enduring collaboration.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, releasing the Top 40 album Cruelty Without Beauty.
After a further hiatus, they reappeared in recent years, issuing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was intended to be a farewell show at the large venue on 30 September, 2018.
Yet, they stayed together, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic restrictions.
Ball recently described the band's upcoming release as a tribute to the NYC nightlife they visited while making their first two albums.
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 pain medication," he explained to a publication.
"The new songs are a electronic representation of the noises in my mind from that time.
"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences me and Marc got up to in the 80s."
The last versions were finished only a short time before Ball passed away. It is due for launch in Spring 2026.
