Dave Ball, one half of the groundbreaking 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the duo achieved a worldwide hit with their cover of Gloria Jones' the classic track 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 innovative electronic act The Grid, who achieved chart success with 1994's Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his rest at his home in London on October 22, only a short time after playing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in the Thames-side town.
Health Struggles
At that performance, Ball performed in a mobility chair, as he had for the last two years, after a spate of ill-health.
"I ended up damage myself quite a bit," he commented in a recent interview. "I broke lower vertebrae in my spine and cracked about five ribs and fractured my wrist."
After contracting a lung infection and developing blood poisoning, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and remained in the hospital for seven months.
Nevertheless, he had been in "a great place mentally" during the warmer months, as he was developing a fresh record with Almond, titled the upcoming Danceteria, which is set for publication next year.
"He was focused and very pleased with the new album that we actually finished only a short time ago," said the vocalist in a heartfelt message.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was completely planned to be such an uplifting time for him, and I find comfort from the knowledge that he listened to the completed album and believed that it was a great piece of work."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond described his bandmate 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 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, shared his condolences, recalling Ball's "constant humor" and "unwavering friendship".
"Being in a partnership with someone is different from joining a band, the bond is very tight," he added.
"That was the case with us. We experienced so many remarkable, extraordinary, memorable experiences as a team. Thank you, Dave."
Early Life
Born 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 old.
He was raised in Blackpool with adoptive parents his caregivers, who altered his given name from Paul 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 studying fine arts. Fuelled by a mutual passion of Northern Soul, they established Soft Cell the very year, and quickly produced an extended play.
Musical Partnership
The duo were an distinctive pairing: Ball was the quiet technician, hunched over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant showman, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they attained a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with synthesizers after watching Kraftwerk appear on BBC program Tomorrow's World, and began to combine dark electronica to the catchy tunes Almond was composing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second biggest-selling single of 1981, selling millions of units worldwide. Together with hits by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it helped cleared the way for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.
The song was also included on their first album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which produced two further high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the record up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at number two in the following year.
Career Highlights
Success had its benefits. "I loved being able to purchase my first home, having financial security and travelling, which might seem like a beauty queen," Ball not long ago told with a publication.
But it also presented problems. "Newfound wealth meant we could afford newfound drugs to relieve the boredom" of media interviews and TV performances, Ball said.
"I know that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a valid cause, because it applies for so many musicians."
Amidst the hedonistic lifestyle, the pair were also growing distant, but they managed to create a follow-up memorable record - the wayward, edgy and fittingly named 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 individual endeavors.
Almond proceeded to have a successful individual path, including the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who combined acid house with ambient pop over a enduring partnership.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell reunited in 2001, releasing the charting record Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following another hiatus, they returned in recent years, releasing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was supposed to be a farewell show at the large venue on 30 September, 2018.
Yet, they remained active, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic restrictions.
Ball lately described the duo's upcoming release as a tribute to the NYC nightlife they visited while recording their first two albums.
He added that his time in hospital had influenced the band's sound.
"I experienced strange recollections when I was coming and going of hospital because I was on pain medication," he explained to a music magazine.
"Our latest tracks are a digital reflection of the noises in my head from those days.
"In parallel, it's about the times me and Marc had in the 1980s."
The final mixes were finished only a short time before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for release in the spring of 2026.
