Dave Ball, a key member of the pioneering 1980s synth-pop duo Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Alongside vocalist Marc Almond, the team achieved a worldwide hit with their cover 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 synth-pop.
He later formed the innovative techno group The Grid, who achieved popular acclaim with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully in his sleep at his residence in London on October 22, only a short time after playing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in the Thames-side town.
Health Struggles
At that performance, Ball performed in a mobility chair, as he had for the last two years, after a period of health issues.
"I ended up injure myself significantly," he stated in a recent interview. "I broke spinal bones in my spine and fractured about five ribs and fractured my arm."
Following catching pneumonia and suffering from sepsis, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and remained in hospital for seven months.
However, he had been in "a great place emotionally" during the warmer months, as he worked on a new album with Almond, titled the upcoming Danceteria, which is set for release in the coming year.
"He was concentrated and so happy with the new album that we actually finished only a short time ago," said the singer in a heartfelt message.
"It's so sad as next year was completely planned to be such an uplifting time for him, and I take some solace from the fact that he heard the finished record and believed that it was a masterpiece."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond referred to his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant musical genius", stating: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our legacy.
"Many thanks Dave for being an immense part of my existence and for the music you gave me. I couldn't be where I am without you."
Richard Norris from The Grid, shared his condolences, recalling Ball's "constant humor" and "unwavering friendship".
"Forming a partnership with someone is distinct from being in a group, the connection is incredibly close," he continued.
"That was the case with us. We went through so many extraordinary, incredible, life-affirming experiences as a team. Many thanks, Dave."
Formative Years
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 Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his given name from Paul to his adopted name, together with his younger sister Susan, who was also adopted.
He met Almond at an art college in the late 70s, where they were both studying art. Fuelled by a mutual passion of Northern Soul, they formed Soft Cell the very year, and promptly produced an extended play.
Creative Collaboration
The duo were an unusual pairing: Ball was the quiet musician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all glitter and eye-liner; but they achieved a rare musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with electronic instruments after viewing the band Kraftwerk perform on a television science show Tomorrow's World, and began to combine dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second most popular song of the early 80s, shifting 21 million units globally. Alongside hits by Gary Numan, Human League and electronic acts, it helped cleared the path for the electronic music style of the 80s.
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 record up with the separate release, Torch, which peaked at number two in the following year.
Professional Journey
Success had its benefits. "I enjoyed being able to afford my first home, having money and travelling, which makes me sound like a Miss World," Ball recently told with a music magazine.
But it also presented problems. "Newfound wealth meant we could purchase newfound drugs to alleviate the monotony" of media interviews and TV performances, Ball explained.
"I realize that's a common saying, but it's a cliché for a valid cause, because it applies for so many musicians."
Amidst the hedonistic lifestyle, the duo were also growing distant, but they managed to create a second classic album - the wayward, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released another album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band to concentrate on other projects.
Almond went on to have a successful solo career, featuring the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who combined dance music with melodic sounds over a long-lasting partnership.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell came back together in the early 2000s, producing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.
After another hiatus, they returned in 2018, releasing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was intended to be a final performance at the O2 Arena on 30 September, 2018.
Yet, they remained together, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic 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 time in hospital had influenced 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 sounds in my mind from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences me and Marc got up to in the 1980s."
The final mixes were completed only a short time before Ball died. It is scheduled for launch in the spring of 2026.
