Dave Ball, a key member of the pioneering 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Together with singer Marc Almond, the team scored a worldwide hit with their version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a classic of synth-pop.
He subsequently formed the innovative electronic act The Grid, who achieved chart success with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball died peacefully in his rest at his home in London on October 22, just weeks after playing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in Henley-on-Thames.
Recent Health Challenges
At that show, Ball performed in a mobility chair, as he had for the last two years, following a period of ill-health.
"I managed to injure myself quite a bit," he stated in a recent interview. "I broke lower vertebrae in my back and fractured about multiple ribs and broke my wrist."
Following contracting pneumonia and developing blood poisoning, 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 summer, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, called Danceteria, which is set for publication next year.
"He was focused and so happy with the new album that we literally completed only a short time ago," said the vocalist in a tribute.
"It's so sad as next year was completely planned to be such an uplifting time for him, and I find comfort from the fact that he heard the completed album and believed that it was a masterpiece."
Tributes
Almond described his collaborator as "an exceptionally talented 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 immense aspect of my existence and for the songs you gave me. I couldn't be where I am without you."
Richard Norris from The Grid, also paid tribute, recalling Ball's "endless laughter" and "unwavering friendship".
"Forming a partnership with someone is distinct from joining a group, the connection is very tight," he added.
"That was the case with us. We went through so many remarkable, incredible, life-affirming experiences together. Thank you, Dave."
Formative Years
Born into a one-parent family in Chester in the late 50s, Ball was given up for adoption when he was a year and a half of age.
He grew up in Blackpool with his new family his caregivers, who altered his given name from his birth name to David, together with his sibling his sister, who was similarly welcomed.
He met Almond at an art college in the late 70s, where they were both learning art. Fuelled by a shared love of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the same year, and quickly recorded an extended play.
Creative Collaboration
The duo were an distinctive pairing: Ball was the quiet musician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all glitter and makeup; but they attained a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with synthesizers after watching the band Kraftwerk perform on a television science show Tomorrow's World, and began to combine moody electronic sounds to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second biggest-selling single of 1981, shifting millions of units globally. Alongside hits by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it helped paved the path for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.
The track was also included on their first album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which produced two additional top five singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the album up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which reached at number two in 1982.
Professional Journey
Fame had its benefits. "I loved being able to afford my initial property, having money and travelling, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball not long ago shared with a publication.
But it also presented problems. "Newfound wealth allowed we could afford newfound drugs to relieve the monotony" of media interviews 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 bands."
During the hedonistic lifestyle, the pair were also growing distant, but they succeeded to produce a follow-up classic album - the unconventional, edgy and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out another album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the band to concentrate on other projects.
Almond proceeded to have a successful 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 enduring partnership.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, releasing the charting record Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following another hiatus, they returned in recent years, releasing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was intended to be a farewell show at the large venue on 30 September, that year.
However, they remained together, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic restrictions.
Ball lately characterized the duo's upcoming release as a homage to the NYC nightlife they visited while making their initial records.
He added that his period in hospital had influenced the group's music.
"I experienced strange recollections when I was in and out of hospital because I was on morphine," he told a publication.
"The new songs are a electronic representation of the noises in my mind from those days.
"In parallel, it's about the times we had in the 80s."
The last versions were finished only a short time before Ball died. It is scheduled for release in Spring 2026.
