Dave Ball, a key member of the innovative 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Alongside vocalist Marc Almond, the pair scored a worldwide hit with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a seminal work of electronic music.
He subsequently formed the innovative techno group The Grid, who achieved popular acclaim with their 1994 single Swamp Thing.
Ball died calmly in his rest at his residence in London on October 22, just weeks after performing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in the Thames-side town.
Recent Health Challenges
During that show, Ball appeared in a wheelchair, as he had for the previous couple of years, following a spate of ill-health.
"I ended up damage myself quite a bit," he stated in 2023. "I broke spinal bones in my back and fractured about multiple ribs and fractured my wrist."
After contracting a lung infection and developing sepsis, he was placed in an induced coma and stayed in hospital for seven months.
However, he had been in "high spirits mentally" during the warmer months, as he was developing a fresh record with Almond, titled the upcoming Danceteria, which is set for publication in the coming year.
"He was concentrated and very pleased with the new album that we actually finished only a short time ago," stated the singer in a tribute.
"It's so sad as next year was completely planned to be such an positive year for him, and I find comfort from the knowledge that he listened to the completed album and felt that it was a great piece of work."
Tributes
Almond described his bandmate as "a wonderfully brilliant musical genius", stating: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our legacy.
"Many thanks Dave for being an immense aspect of my existence and for the songs you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without your influence."
Richard Norris from The Grid, also paid tribute, recalling Ball's "constant humor" and "steadfast support".
"Forming a duo with someone is different from joining a group, the connection is incredibly close," he continued.
"That's how it was with us. We experienced so many remarkable, extraordinary, memorable experiences together. Many thanks, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a one-parent family in Chester in 1959, 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 given name from Paul to his adopted name, alongside his sibling his sister, who was also adopted.
He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in the late 70s, where they were both studying art. Inspired by a mutual passion of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the very year, and promptly recorded an EP.
Creative Collaboration
The duo were an distinctive combination: Ball was the reserved musician, hunched over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they attained a rare creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with electronic instruments after watching the band Kraftwerk perform on BBC program Tomorrow's World, and started to combine dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.
Their signature song became the UK's second most popular single of 1981, shifting 21 million copies globally. Alongside hits by Gary Numan, Human League and Ultravox, it helped cleared the way for the electronic music style of the 80s.
The song was also featured on their full-length debut, their initial LP, which spawned two further top five hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the album up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at the second position in the following year.
Career Highlights
Success had its benefits. "I enjoyed being able to purchase my initial property, having money and travelling, which makes me sound like a Miss World," Ball not long ago told with a publication.
But it also presented challenges. "Newfound wealth allowed we could purchase substances to alleviate the monotony" of press appearances and television shows, 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 hedonistic lifestyle, the pair were also drifting apart, but they succeeded to produce a second classic album - the unconventional, edgy and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out another album, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the group to focus on other projects.
Almond went on 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 dance music with ambient pop over a long-lasting partnership.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, releasing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following a further break, they reappeared in recent years, issuing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was intended to be a farewell show at the large venue on 30 September, that year.
Yet, they remained active, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.
Ball recently described the band's new album as a homage to the NYC nightlife they visited while making their first two albums.
He added that his time in medical care had shaped the group's music.
"I experienced strange recollections when I was coming and going of the hospital because I was on morphine," he told a music magazine.
"Our latest tracks are a electronic representation of the noises in my head from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the times me and Marc had in the 1980s."
The last versions were completed only a short time before Ball died. It is scheduled for release in Spring 2026.
