Dave Ball, a key member of the innovative 1980s synth-pop band Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Together with vocalist Marc Almond, the pair scored a global success with their version of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in 1984, and their debut album their initial full-length release is regarded as a classic of synth-pop.
He subsequently founded the innovative electronic act The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with their 1994 single the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully in his rest at his residence in London on Wednesday 22 October, just weeks after playing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in the Thames-side town.
Health Struggles
At that performance, Ball appeared in a wheelchair, as he had for the previous couple of years, after a spate of ill-health.
"I managed to injure myself significantly," he stated in a recent interview. "I fractured spinal bones in my spine and cracked about multiple ribs and fractured my wrist."
Following catching a lung infection and developing blood poisoning, he was put in an induced coma and stayed in hospital for half a year.
However, he had been in "a great place mentally" during the warmer months, as he was developing a new album with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication in the coming year.
"He was focused and very pleased with the new album that we actually finished only a short time ago," stated the singer in a heartfelt message.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was completely planned to be such an uplifting time for him, and I take some solace from the fact that he listened to the finished record and felt that it was a masterpiece."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond described his bandmate as "an exceptionally talented creative mastermind", adding: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our legacy.
"Thank you Dave for being an immense part of my existence and for the songs you gave me. I wouldn't be where I am without your influence."
Richard Norris from The Grid, shared his condolences, recalling Ball's "constant humor" and "steadfast support".
"Forming a partnership with someone is distinct from joining a band, the connection is very tight," he continued.
"That's how it was with us. We experienced so many remarkable, extraordinary, memorable moments as a team. Thank you, Dave."
Formative Years
Born into a one-parent family in the city of Chester in 1959, Ball was put up for adoption when he was a year and a half of age.
He grew up in Blackpool with his new family Donald and Brenda Ball, who altered his first name from his birth name to David, together with his younger sister Susan, who was similarly welcomed.
He met Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both learning fine arts. Fuelled by a shared love of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the very year, and promptly produced an EP.
Musical Partnership
The duo were an unusual combination: Ball was the reserved musician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all glitter and eye-liner; but they attained a rare creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with synthesizers after watching Kraftwerk perform on a television science show a popular series, and began to marry moody electronic sounds to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.
Their signature song became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling song of 1981, shifting 21 million units globally. Together with successful tracks by other artists, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it helped cleared the path for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The song was also included on their first album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which spawned two further high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the record up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at the second position in 1982.
Career Highlights
Fame had its benefits. "I loved being able to afford my initial property, having money and exploring, which makes me sound like a Miss World," Ball not long ago told with a music magazine.
But it also presented challenges. "Sudden riches meant we could purchase newfound drugs to relieve the boredom" of media interviews and television shows, Ball explained.
"I know that's a common saying, but it's a truism for a good reason, because it works for so many musicians."
Amidst the party-filled existence, the duo were also growing distant, but they managed to produce a follow-up classic album - the wayward, edgy and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out one more album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the band 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 dance music with ambient pop over a enduring collaboration.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell came back together in the early 2000s, producing the Top 40 album Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following a further hiatus, they reappeared in recent years, issuing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was supposed to be a farewell show at the O2 Arena on 30 September, that year.
However, they stayed together, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic restrictions.
Ball lately described the band's new album as a homage to the New York club scene they frequented while recording their first two albums.
He noted that his time in medical care had shaped the band's sound.
"I had unusual memories when I was in and out of hospital because I was on pain medication," he explained to a music magazine.
"Our latest tracks are a electronic representation of the noises in my mind from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the times me and Marc got up to in the 1980s."
The last versions were completed only a short time before Ball passed away. It is due for release in Spring 2026.
