Dave Ball, one half of the innovative 1980s synth-pop duo Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Together with singer Marc Almond, the duo scored a worldwide hit with their version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a classic of synth-pop.
He subsequently founded the pioneering techno group The Grid, who achieved chart success with 1994's Swamp Thing.
Ball died peacefully in his sleep at his residence in London on October 22, 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 wheelchair, as he had for the last two years, after a period of ill-health.
"I managed to injure myself significantly," he stated in 2023. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my spine and cracked about five ribs and broke my wrist."
Following contracting a lung infection and suffering from sepsis, he was put in an induced coma and stayed in hospital for half a year.
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 scheduled for release in the coming year.
"He was concentrated and very pleased with the latest project that we actually completed 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 year for him, and I find comfort from the fact that he listened to the completed album and believed that it was a masterpiece."
Tributes
Almond referred to his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", stating: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our body of work.
"Many thanks Dave for being an significant part of my existence and for the music you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without you."
Richard Norris from The Grid, also paid tribute, remembering Ball's "endless laughter" and "steadfast support".
"Being in a duo with someone is distinct from being in a group, the connection is very tight," he continued.
"That's how it was with us. We experienced so many extraordinary, incredible, life-affirming experiences as a team. Thank you, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a one-parent family in Chester in the late 50s, Ball was given up for adoption when he was 18 months old.
He was raised in the seaside town with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his given name from Paul to David, alongside his younger sister Susan, who was also adopted.
He encountered Almond at an art college in the late 70s, where they were both learning fine arts. Inspired 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 unusual combination: Ball was the quiet musician, hunched over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all glitter and eye-liner; but they achieved a rare creative synergy.
Ball had developed a interest with synthesizers after viewing Kraftwerk perform on BBC science show a popular series, and began to combine dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second most popular song of 1981, shifting millions of units globally. Together with hits by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it helped paved the path for the electronic music style of the 80s.
The track was also featured on their first album, their initial LP, which produced two further top five singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the record up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which reached at number two in the following year.
Professional Journey
Success had its upsides. "I enjoyed being able to afford my first home, having money and travelling, which might seem like a beauty queen," Ball recently shared with a music magazine.
But it also caused challenges. "Sudden riches allowed we could purchase newfound drugs to alleviate the monotony" of media interviews and TV performances, Ball explained.
"I know that's a common saying, but it's a cliché for a valid cause, because it works for so many bands."
During the hedonistic lifestyle, the duo were also growing distant, but they managed to create a follow-up classic album - the unconventional, edgy and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released another LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group to focus on other projects.
Almond went on to have a successful solo career, including the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who combined acid house with melodic sounds over a enduring collaboration.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, producing the charting record Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following a further hiatus, they returned in 2018, issuing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was intended to be a final performance at the large venue on 30 September, that year.
However, they stayed active, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic restrictions.
Ball recently characterized the duo's new album as a tribute to the New York club scene they frequented while recording their first two albums.
He noted that his period in hospital had influenced the group's music.
"I had strange recollections when I was coming and going of hospital because I was on morphine," he explained to a publication.
"Our latest tracks are a digital reflection of the sounds in my mind from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the times we got up to in the 80s."
The last versions were finished only days before Ball died. It is due for release in Spring 2026.
