Dave Ball, a key member of the groundbreaking 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Together with singer Marc Almond, the duo achieved a global success with their version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record their initial full-length release is considered a classic of electronic music.
He subsequently founded the innovative techno group The Grid, who achieved chart success with their 1994 single Swamp Thing.
Ball died calmly in his sleep at his home in London on October 22, only a short time after performing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in Henley-on-Thames.
Health Struggles
At that performance, Ball performed in a mobility chair, as he had for the last two years, after a spate of health issues.
"I managed to damage myself significantly," he stated in a recent interview. "I fractured spinal bones in my back and cracked about five ribs and broke my wrist."
After catching pneumonia and developing sepsis, he was put in an induced coma and stayed in the hospital for half a year.
Nevertheless, he had been in "high spirits emotionally" during the summer, as he was developing a fresh record with Almond, called Danceteria, which is set for publication next year.
"He was concentrated and very pleased with the new album that we actually finished only a few days ago," stated 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 take some solace from the knowledge that he heard the finished record and felt that it was a masterpiece."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond described his bandmate as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", stating: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our legacy.
"Thank you Dave for being an significant aspect of my life and for the songs you gave me. I wouldn't be where I am without you."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, shared his condolences, recalling Ball's "constant humor" and "unwavering friendship".
"Being in a duo with someone is different from joining a band, the bond is very tight," he continued.
"That's how it was with us. We went through so many remarkable, incredible, life-affirming moments as a team. Many thanks, Dave."
Formative Years
Born into a one-parent family in Chester in 1959, Ball was given up for adoption when he was 18 months of age.
He was raised in the seaside town with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his first name from Paul to his adopted name, alongside his younger sister his sister, who was also adopted.
He met Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in the late 70s, where they were both studying art. Inspired by a shared love of Northern Soul, they established Soft Cell the same year, and promptly produced an EP.
Creative Collaboration
The duo were an unusual combination: Ball was the reserved musician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all glitter and makeup; but they achieved a rare musical alchemy.
Ball had developed a fascination with synthesizers after viewing the band Kraftwerk appear on a television science show a popular series, and started to marry dark electronica to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second most popular song of the early 80s, selling 21 million units globally. Alongside successful tracks by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it helped cleared the path for the electronic music style of the 80s.
The track was also included on their first album, their initial LP, which produced two further high-charting hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the record up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at the second position in the following year.
Career Highlights
Fame had its benefits. "I enjoyed being able to purchase my first home, having financial security and travelling, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball not long ago told with a music magazine.
But it also presented challenges. "Sudden riches meant we could purchase substances to relieve the monotony" of media interviews and television shows, Ball explained.
"I know that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a good reason, because it applies for so many bands."
Amidst the hedonistic lifestyle, the pair were also drifting apart, but they managed to produce a second memorable record - the wayward, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out one more album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band to focus 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 created The Grid, who mixed acid house with melodic sounds over a long-lasting collaboration.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell came back together in 2001, producing the charting album Cruelty Without Beauty.
After another break, they returned in recent years, issuing 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 September 30, 2018.
Yet, they remained together, recording their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.
Ball lately characterized the band's new album as a homage to the NYC nightlife they frequented while recording their initial records.
He noted that his period in hospital had influenced the group's music.
"I had unusual memories when I was coming and going of the hospital because I was on morphine," he told a publication.
"Our latest tracks are a electronic representation of the sounds in my mind from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the times me and Marc got up to in the 1980s."
The final mixes were finished only a short time before Ball died. It is scheduled for release in the spring of 2026.
