Dave Ball, one half of the innovative 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Together with vocalist Marc Almond, the duo achieved a worldwide hit with their version of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in 1984, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a seminal work of electronic music.
He subsequently formed the innovative electronic act The Grid, who achieved popular acclaim with 1994's Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his rest at his home in London on October 22, just weeks after playing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in the Thames-side town.
Health Struggles
At that performance, Ball appeared in a mobility chair, as he had for the last two years, after a period of ill-health.
"I ended up injure myself quite a bit," he commented in a recent interview. "I broke spinal bones in my back and fractured about five ribs and fractured my arm."
After catching a lung infection and suffering from sepsis, he was put in an induced coma and stayed in hospital for seven months.
Nevertheless, he had been in "a great place emotionally" during the summer, as he was developing a fresh record with Almond, called Danceteria, which is set for publication next year.
"He was focused and very pleased with the latest project that we literally finished only a few days ago," said the vocalist in a tribute.
"It's so sad as next year was completely planned to be such an positive time for him, and I take some solace from the knowledge that he listened to the completed album and believed that it was a masterpiece."
Tributes
Almond referred to 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 body of work.
"Thank you Dave for being an immense aspect of my life and for the songs you gave me. I couldn't be where I am without your influence."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, also paid tribute, remembering Ball's "constant humor" and "unwavering friendship".
"Forming a duo with someone is different from joining a group, the bond is very tight," he added.
"That was the case with us. We experienced so many remarkable, incredible, memorable experiences as a team. Thank you, Dave."
Formative Years
Born into a single-parent household in Chester in 1959, Ball was put up for adoption when he was a year and a half of age.
He grew up in Blackpool with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who altered his first name from his birth name to David, alongside his sibling his sister, who was also adopted.
He met Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in the late 70s, where they were both learning art. Inspired by a shared love of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and promptly produced an EP.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an unusual pairing: Ball was the reserved 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 cultivated a interest with synthesizers after watching the band Kraftwerk appear on BBC program Tomorrow's World, and began to marry moody electronic sounds to the catchy tunes Almond was composing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second most popular song of 1981, selling 21 million units worldwide. Alongside successful tracks by other artists, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it contributed to cleared the way for the electronic music style of the 80s.
The track was also included on their first album, their initial LP, which spawned two additional top five singles: 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
Fame had its upsides. "I enjoyed being able to purchase my initial property, having money 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 afford newfound drugs to alleviate the boredom" of media interviews and TV performances, Ball explained.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a valid cause, because it applies for so many musicians."
Amidst the party-filled existence, the pair were also growing distant, but they succeeded to produce a follow-up classic album - the wayward, edgy and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released one more album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band 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 mixed dance music with ambient pop over a enduring collaboration.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, producing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following another 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 farewell show at the O2 Arena on September 30, that year.
Yet, they remained together, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.
Ball lately characterized the band's new album as a tribute to the NYC nightlife they visited while making their first two albums.
He noted that his period in hospital had influenced the group's music.
"I had unusual memories when I was in and out of the hospital because I was on pain medication," he told a music magazine.
"The new songs are a digital reflection of the sounds in my head from that time.
"In parallel, it's about the times me and Marc had in the 1980s."
The final mixes were completed only a short time before Ball passed away. It is due for release in the spring of 2026.
