Dave Ball, a key member of the innovative 1980s synth-pop duo Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the duo achieved a global success with their cover of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a seminal work of synth-pop.
He later founded the pioneering techno group The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with their 1994 single the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball died calmly in his rest at his residence in London on Wednesday 22 October, only a short time after performing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in the Thames-side town.
Health Struggles
At that show, Ball performed in a mobility chair, as he had for the previous couple of years, after a spate of health issues.
"I managed to injure myself significantly," he stated in 2023. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my back and cracked about multiple ribs and fractured my wrist."
Following contracting pneumonia and suffering from blood poisoning, he was placed in an medically-induced sleep and stayed in the hospital for half a year.
Nevertheless, he had been in "a great place emotionally" over the warmer months, as he worked on a new album with Almond, called Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication next year.
"He was focused and so happy with the new album that we actually finished only a few days ago," stated the singer in a tribute.
"It's so sad as next year was completely planned to be such an uplifting year for him, and I find comfort from the knowledge that he heard the completed album and felt that it was a masterpiece."
Tributes
Almond described his bandmate as "a wonderfully brilliant musical genius", adding: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our body of work.
"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."
Richard Norris from The Grid, also paid tribute, recalling Ball's "constant humor" and "steadfast support".
"Being in a duo with someone is distinct from joining a band, the connection is incredibly close," he continued.
"That's how it was with us. We went through so many remarkable, extraordinary, memorable experiences together. Thank you, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a one-parent family in Chester in 1959, Ball was put up for adoption when he was a year and a half of age.
He was raised in the seaside town with his new family his caregivers, who changed his first name from Paul to David, together with his sibling his sister, who was similarly welcomed.
He met Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in the late 70s, where they were both studying art. Fuelled by a mutual passion of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the very year, and promptly recorded an EP.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an unusual pairing: Ball was the quiet musician, hunched over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic showman, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they attained a rare musical alchemy.
Ball had developed a interest with synthesizers after viewing the band Kraftwerk appear on BBC program Tomorrow's World, and began to marry moody electronic sounds to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling song of 1981, selling 21 million units globally. Alongside successful tracks by other artists, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it helped cleared the way for the synth-pop sound of the 80s.
The track was also featured on their full-length debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which spawned two additional 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 1982.
Career Highlights
Success had its upsides. "I loved being able to afford my first home, having money and travelling, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball not long ago shared with a music magazine.
But it also presented challenges. "Newfound wealth allowed we could purchase substances to relieve the monotony" of press appearances and television shows, Ball explained.
"I know that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a valid cause, because it works for so many bands."
Amidst the hedonistic lifestyle, the duo were also growing distant, but they managed to produce a second classic album - the wayward, edgy and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out another album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the group to concentrate on other projects.
Almond went on to have a prosperous individual path, featuring the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who mixed acid house with ambient pop over a long-lasting collaboration.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell came back together in 2001, releasing the charting record Cruelty Without Beauty.
After another break, they reappeared 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 O2 Arena on 30 September, 2018.
Yet, they stayed together, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic restrictions.
Ball recently described the band's upcoming release as a homage to the NYC nightlife they visited while making their initial records.
He noted that his period in medical care had influenced the band's sound.
"I had unusual memories when I was coming and going of hospital because I was on morphine," he told a publication.
"The new songs are a electronic representation of the noises in my mind from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the times me and Marc had in the 80s."
The final mixes were finished only days before Ball passed away. It is due for launch in Spring 2026.
