Dave Ball, one half of the innovative 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Together with singer Marc Almond, the pair scored a global success with their cover of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in 1984, and their first record their initial full-length release is regarded as a seminal work of synth-pop.
He later founded the pioneering electronic act The Grid, who achieved popular acclaim with their 1994 single the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball died peacefully in his sleep at his residence in London on October 22, just weeks after playing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in Henley-on-Thames.
Recent Health Challenges
At that performance, Ball performed in a wheelchair, as he had for the previous couple of years, following a period of health issues.
"I managed to damage myself significantly," he commented in 2023. "I broke lower vertebrae in my back and cracked about multiple ribs and fractured my wrist."
After contracting a lung infection and developing sepsis, he was put in an induced coma and stayed in hospital for seven months.
However, he had been in "high spirits emotionally" during the warmer months, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is set for release next year.
"He was focused and so happy with the new album that we literally finished only a short time ago," stated the vocalist in a tribute.
"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 finished record and felt that it was a great piece of work."
Tributes
Almond described his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant musical genius", stating: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our legacy.
"Thank you Dave for being an immense part of my life and for the songs you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without your influence."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, also paid tribute, remembering Ball's "endless laughter" and "unwavering friendship".
"Being in a partnership with someone is distinct from being in a band, the bond is very tight," he continued.
"That's how it was with us. We experienced so many remarkable, incredible, memorable moments together. Thank you, Dave."
Formative Years
Brought into the world into a single-parent household in Chester in the late 50s, Ball was given up for adoption when he was a year and a half of age.
He was raised in Blackpool with his new family Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his first name from his birth name to his adopted name, alongside his sibling his sister, who was also adopted.
He met Almond at an art college in the late 70s, where they were both learning art. Fuelled by a mutual passion of Northern Soul, they formed Soft Cell the very year, and quickly produced an extended play.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an distinctive combination: Ball was the quiet musician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a charismatic showman, all glitter and makeup; but they attained a unique creative synergy.
Ball had developed a interest with synthesizers after viewing the band Kraftwerk perform on a television science show Tomorrow's World, and began to marry dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second most popular single of the early 80s, shifting millions of copies globally. Together with hits by other artists, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it contributed to cleared the path for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The song was also included on their first album, their initial LP, which produced two additional top five hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the album up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which reached at number two in the following year.
Professional Journey
Fame had its upsides. "I loved being able to purchase my initial property, having financial security and exploring, which makes me sound like a Miss World," Ball recently told with a publication.
But it also presented problems. "Newfound wealth allowed we could afford newfound drugs to alleviate the monotony" of press appearances and television shows, Ball said.
"I know that's a common saying, but it's a cliché for a valid cause, because it works for so many musicians."
During the party-filled existence, the pair were also drifting apart, but they managed to create a second classic album - the unconventional, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released another LP, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the band to focus on individual endeavors.
Almond proceeded to have a successful solo career, featuring the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who combined dance music with ambient pop over a long-lasting collaboration.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, releasing the charting album Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following another break, they returned in recent years, releasing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was supposed to be a farewell show at the O2 Arena on 30 September, that year.
Yet, they remained active, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic restrictions.
Ball recently described the band's new album as a tribute to the NYC nightlife they frequented while recording their first two albums.
He added that his period in medical care had influenced the group's music.
"I experienced unusual memories when I was coming and going of hospital because I was on pain medication," he told a publication.
"The new songs are a digital reflection of the sounds in my head from that time.
"In parallel, it's about the times me and Marc had in the 1980s."
The last versions were completed only a short time before Ball died. It is scheduled for release in Spring 2026.
