Dave Ball, one half of the pioneering 1980s synth-pop duo Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the team scored a global success with their version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their debut album their initial full-length release is regarded as a seminal work of synth-pop.
He subsequently formed the innovative techno group The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully in his rest at his residence in London on Wednesday 22 October, only a short time after performing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in the Thames-side town.
Health Struggles
At that show, Ball appeared in a mobility chair, as he had for the last two years, following a period of ill-health.
"I managed to damage myself significantly," he commented in 2023. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my back and cracked about five ribs and fractured my arm."
After catching pneumonia and suffering from blood poisoning, he was put in an induced coma and remained in the hospital for half a year.
Nevertheless, he had been in "high spirits emotionally" over the warmer months, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, titled the upcoming Danceteria, which is set for publication next year.
"He was concentrated and so happy with the latest project that we literally completed only a short time ago," said the singer in a tribute.
"It's truly heartbreaking 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 felt that it was a great piece of work."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond referred to his collaborator 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.
"Many thanks Dave for being an significant aspect of my existence and for the music you gave me. I wouldn't be where I am without you."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, shared his condolences, remembering Ball's "constant humor" and "unwavering friendship".
"Being in a duo with someone is different from being in a band, the connection is incredibly close," he added.
"That was the case with us. We went through so many remarkable, incredible, memorable experiences together. Thank you, 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 old.
He was raised in Blackpool with adoptive parents his caregivers, who changed his first name from Paul to David, alongside his younger sister his sister, who was similarly welcomed.
He met Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in the late 70s, where they were both learning art. Inspired by a shared love of Northern Soul, they established Soft Cell the very year, and quickly produced an EP.
Creative Collaboration
The duo were an unusual combination: Ball was the reserved technician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they achieved a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had developed a fascination with electronic instruments after watching Kraftwerk appear on BBC science show a popular series, and began to marry moody electronic sounds to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.
Their signature song became the United Kingdom's second most popular song of the early 80s, shifting 21 million units globally. Together with successful tracks by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it contributed to paved the way for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.
The track was also featured on their first album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which produced two additional high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the album up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which reached at the second position in the following year.
Career Highlights
Success had its benefits. "I enjoyed being able to afford my first home, having money and exploring, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball not long ago shared with a publication.
But it also caused problems. "Newfound wealth allowed we could afford newfound drugs to relieve the monotony" of media interviews and television shows, Ball explained.
"I know that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a valid cause, because it applies for so many bands."
During the party-filled existence, the duo were also growing distant, but they succeeded to produce a follow-up memorable record - the unconventional, edgy and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released one more LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group to focus on other projects.
Almond went on to have a prosperous individual path, featuring the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who combined dance music with melodic sounds over a long-lasting partnership.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell reunited in 2001, producing the Top 40 album Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following another break, they reappeared in recent years, issuing the original singles 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 together, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.
Ball lately characterized the duo's upcoming release as a tribute to the New York club scene they frequented while making their initial records.
He noted that his period in medical care had shaped the band's sound.
"I had strange recollections when I was coming and going of the hospital because I was on morphine," he told a publication.
"Our latest tracks are a electronic representation of the sounds in my head from those days.
"In parallel, it's about the experiences we got up to in the 80s."
The final mixes were finished only a short time before Ball died. It is scheduled for launch in the spring of 2026.
