Dave Ball, one half of the groundbreaking 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Together with singer Marc Almond, the team scored a global success with their version of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in 1984, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a classic of electronic music.
He subsequently founded the innovative techno group The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with their 1994 single the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his rest at his home in London on Wednesday 22 October, just weeks after performing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in Henley-on-Thames.
Health Struggles
At that performance, Ball appeared in a mobility chair, as he had for the previous couple of years, following a spate of ill-health.
"I managed to injure myself significantly," he stated in a recent interview. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my spine and fractured about five ribs and broke my arm."
After catching a lung infection and developing blood poisoning, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and stayed in the hospital for half a year.
However, he had been in "high spirits emotionally" during the warmer months, as he was developing a fresh record with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is set for publication in the coming year.
"He was concentrated and very pleased with the new album that we actually completed only a short time ago," said the vocalist in a tribute.
"It's so sad as next year was all set to be such an positive year for him, and I find comfort from the knowledge that he heard the finished record and felt that it was a great piece of work."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond referred to his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", adding: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our body of work.
"Thank you Dave for being an immense aspect of my life and for the music you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without your influence."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, shared his condolences, remembering Ball's "endless laughter" and "unwavering friendship".
"Forming a duo with someone is distinct from joining a band, the connection is incredibly close," he continued.
"That was the case with us. We went through so many extraordinary, incredible, memorable moments as a team. Many thanks, Dave."
Formative Years
Brought into the world into a single-parent household in the city of 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 adoptive parents his caregivers, who changed his first name from Paul to his adopted name, alongside his sibling Susan, who was also adopted.
He met Almond at an art college in the late 70s, where they were both studying fine arts. Inspired by a mutual passion of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the very year, and quickly recorded an extended play.
Musical Partnership
The duo were an unusual combination: Ball was the reserved musician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant showman, all glitter and makeup; but they attained a unique creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with synthesizers after watching Kraftwerk appear on BBC science show Tomorrow's World, and began to combine moody electronic sounds to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second biggest-selling single of the early 80s, selling 21 million units worldwide. Alongside successful tracks by Gary Numan, Human League and electronic acts, it contributed to cleared the way for the electronic music style of the 80s.
The track was also featured on their first album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which spawned two additional high-charting 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
Success had its benefits. "I enjoyed being able to purchase my first home, having money and travelling, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball not long ago told with a publication.
But it also caused problems. "Newfound wealth meant we could purchase substances to relieve the boredom" of press appearances and TV performances, Ball explained.
"I know that's a common saying, but it's a cliché for a good reason, because it works for so many bands."
During the party-filled existence, the pair were also growing distant, but they managed to produce a second memorable record - the unconventional, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released another LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the band to concentrate on individual endeavors.
Almond went on to have a successful individual path, featuring the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who mixed acid house with melodic sounds over a long-lasting partnership.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell reunited in 2001, releasing the charting record Cruelty Without Beauty.
After a further break, they reappeared in 2018, releasing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was intended to be a final performance at the large venue on 30 September, that year.
Yet, they stayed active, recording their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic restrictions.
Ball recently characterized the duo's upcoming release as a homage to the New York club scene they frequented while recording their initial records.
He noted that his period in hospital had shaped the band's sound.
"I had unusual memories when I was coming and going of hospital because I was on morphine," he told a music magazine.
"The new songs are a electronic representation of the sounds in my mind from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences we had in the 80s."
The final mixes were finished only days before Ball died. It is scheduled for launch in Spring 2026.
