Dave Ball, one half of the groundbreaking 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' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a seminal work of electronic music.
He later founded the pioneering electronic act The Grid, who secured chart success with their 1994 single the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully in his rest at his residence in London on October 22, just weeks after performing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in the Thames-side town.
Health Struggles
During that performance, Ball appeared in a wheelchair, as he had for the previous couple of years, following a period of health issues.
"I ended up damage myself quite a bit," he stated in 2023. "I broke lower vertebrae in my back and fractured about multiple ribs and broke my arm."
Following contracting a lung infection and suffering from sepsis, he was put in an induced coma and stayed in the hospital for half a year.
However, he had been in "a great place emotionally" during the warmer months, as he worked on a new album with Almond, called the upcoming Danceteria, which is set for release next year.
"He was focused and so happy with the latest project that we actually completed only a short time ago," said the singer in a heartfelt message.
"It's so sad as next year was all set to be such an uplifting year for him, and I find comfort from the fact that he heard the finished record and felt that it was a great piece of work."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond referred to his collaborator as "an exceptionally talented creative mastermind", adding: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our body of work.
"Thank you Dave for being an significant part of my existence and for the songs 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".
"Forming a duo with someone is different from joining a band, the bond is incredibly close," he added.
"That's how it was with us. We went through so many remarkable, extraordinary, life-affirming moments together. Thank you, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a single-parent household in the city of Chester in the late 50s, Ball was put up for adoption when he was a year and a half old.
He grew up in the seaside town with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his first name from his birth name to David, alongside his sibling his sister, who was also adopted.
He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both learning art. Fuelled by a shared love of Northern Soul, they established Soft Cell the very year, and quickly recorded an EP.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an unusual combination: Ball was the reserved technician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all sparkle and makeup; but they achieved a unique creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with electronic instruments after viewing the band Kraftwerk appear on a television program a popular series, and began to marry dark electronica to the catchy tunes Almond was composing.
Their signature song became the United Kingdom's second most popular song of 1981, shifting millions of copies globally. Together with hits by Gary Numan, Human League and electronic acts, it helped paved the path for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The track was also included on their full-length debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which produced two further top five hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the record up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which peaked at number two in 1982.
Career Highlights
Fame had its upsides. "I enjoyed being able to afford my first home, having money and exploring, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball recently told with a music magazine.
But it also caused problems. "Sudden riches meant we could purchase substances to relieve the boredom" of press appearances and television shows, Ball explained.
"I know that's a common saying, but it's a truism for a valid cause, because it applies for so many musicians."
During the hedonistic lifestyle, the pair were also drifting apart, but they managed to produce a follow-up classic album - the wayward, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released another album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band to focus on other projects.
Almond went on to have a prosperous individual path, including the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who combined dance music with melodic sounds over a long-lasting collaboration.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, producing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.
After another break, they reappeared in 2018, releasing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was supposed to be a final performance at the O2 Arena on September 30, that year.
However, they remained together, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.
Ball recently described the band's upcoming release as a tribute to the New York club scene they frequented while making their first two albums.
He added that his time in hospital had influenced 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.
"Our latest tracks are a electronic representation of the noises in my head from that time.
"In parallel, it's about the times we got up to in the 80s."
The final mixes were completed only a short time before Ball passed away. It is due for release in the spring of 2026.
