Dave Ball, a key member of the innovative 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Alongside vocalist Marc Almond, the duo scored a worldwide hit with their cover of Gloria Jones' 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 chart success with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball died peacefully in his rest at his home in London on Wednesday 22 October, only a short time after performing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in Henley-on-Thames.
Health Struggles
During that show, Ball performed in a wheelchair, as he had for the last two years, after a period of health issues.
"I managed to damage myself significantly," he stated in 2023. "I fractured spinal bones in my spine and fractured about five ribs and broke my arm."
Following contracting pneumonia and developing blood poisoning, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and stayed in the hospital for half a year.
Nevertheless, he had been in "high spirits emotionally" over the summer, as he worked on a new album with Almond, titled the upcoming Danceteria, which is scheduled for release next year.
"He was concentrated and so happy with the latest project that we actually finished only a short time ago," stated the singer in a tribute.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was completely planned to be such an uplifting year for him, and I take some solace from the fact that he heard the finished record and believed that it was a great piece of work."
Tributes
Almond described his bandmate as "an exceptionally talented creative mastermind", 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 music you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without your influence."
Richard Norris from The Grid, shared his condolences, recalling Ball's "endless laughter" and "unwavering friendship".
"Being in a duo with someone is different from joining a group, the bond is incredibly close," he continued.
"That was the case with us. We experienced so many remarkable, incredible, life-affirming experiences together. Many thanks, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a single-parent household in Chester in 1959, Ball was put up for adoption when he was a year and a half old.
He was raised in the seaside town with adoptive parents his caregivers, who altered his first name from Paul to David, alongside his sibling his sister, who was similarly welcomed.
He encountered Almond at an art college in the late 70s, where they were both learning fine arts. Fuelled by a mutual passion of Northern Soul, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and quickly produced an extended play.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an unusual combination: Ball was the reserved technician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all glitter and eye-liner; but they achieved a rare creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with electronic instruments after viewing the band Kraftwerk perform on a television science show Tomorrow's World, and started to marry dark electronica to the catchy tunes Almond was composing.
Their signature song became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling single of the early 80s, shifting millions of copies globally. Together with hits by other artists, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it helped cleared the path for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The track was also included on their first album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which spawned two additional high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the record up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at number two in the following year.
Professional Journey
Fame had its benefits. "I loved being able to purchase my initial property, 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 press appearances and television shows, Ball said.
"I realize that's a common saying, but it's a truism for a valid cause, because it works for so many musicians."
Amidst the hedonistic lifestyle, the pair were also growing distant, but they succeeded to produce a follow-up memorable record - the unconventional, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released another album, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the group to concentrate on individual endeavors.
Almond went on to have a prosperous solo career, 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 partnership.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell reunited in 2001, releasing the Top 40 album Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following another hiatus, they returned in 2018, releasing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was intended to be a farewell show at the large venue on 30 September, that year.
Yet, they remained together, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.
Ball recently described the duo's upcoming release as a tribute to the NYC nightlife they visited while recording their initial records.
He added that his period in hospital had shaped the group's music.
"I had strange recollections when I was coming and going of the hospital because I was on pain medication," he explained to a music magazine.
"Our latest tracks are a digital reflection of the sounds in my head from that time.
"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences me and Marc had in the 80s."
The last versions were finished only a short time before Ball died. It is scheduled for release in Spring 2026.
