Dave Ball, one half of the innovative 1980s electronic music 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' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a classic of electronic music.
He subsequently founded the innovative techno group The Grid, who secured chart success with their 1994 single Swamp Thing.
Ball died peacefully in his sleep at his home in London on October 22, just weeks after performing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in Henley-on-Thames.
Health Struggles
During that show, Ball performed in a wheelchair, as he had for the previous couple of years, after a period of health issues.
"I ended up injure myself quite a bit," he commented in 2023. "I fractured spinal bones in my spine and fractured about multiple ribs and broke my arm."
Following contracting a lung infection and suffering from blood poisoning, he was put in an induced coma and stayed in the hospital for seven months.
However, he had been in "a great place mentally" during the warmer months, as he was developing a fresh record with Almond, called the upcoming Danceteria, which is set for release next year.
"He was concentrated and so happy with the new album that we literally finished only a short time ago," stated the singer in a heartfelt message.
"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 knowledge that he heard the finished record and felt that it was a masterpiece."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond described his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant musical genius", stating: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our legacy.
"Many thanks Dave for being an significant aspect of my life and for the music you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without you."
Richard Norris from The Grid, shared his condolences, recalling Ball's "endless laughter" and "unwavering friendship".
"Being in a partnership with someone is different from joining a band, the connection is very tight," he added.
"That's how it was with us. We experienced so many extraordinary, extraordinary, life-affirming moments together. Many thanks, Dave."
Formative Years
Born into a single-parent household in the city of Chester in the late 50s, Ball was put up for adoption when he was a year and a half old.
He was raised in the seaside town with his new family his caregivers, who changed his given name from Paul to his adopted name, together with his sibling Susan, who was also adopted.
He met Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both learning art. Fuelled by a shared love of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the very year, and promptly recorded an extended play.
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 rare musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with synthesizers after watching the band Kraftwerk perform on a television science show a popular series, and began to combine moody electronic sounds to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.
Their signature song became the UK's second biggest-selling single of 1981, shifting millions of copies globally. Together with successful tracks by Gary Numan, Human League and electronic acts, it helped cleared the way for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.
The track was also featured on their full-length debut, their initial LP, which spawned two further high-charting hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the album up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at the second position in 1982.
Professional Journey
Fame had its benefits. "I enjoyed being able to afford my first home, having money and exploring, which makes me sound like a Miss World," Ball recently shared with a music magazine.
But it also presented problems. "Newfound wealth allowed we could afford newfound drugs to alleviate the boredom" of press appearances and television shows, Ball explained.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a valid cause, because it applies for so many musicians."
During the hedonistic lifestyle, the duo were also growing distant, but they succeeded to produce a second classic album - the unconventional, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released another LP, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group to focus on individual endeavors.
Almond proceeded to have a successful individual path, including the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who combined dance music with melodic sounds over a long-lasting collaboration.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell came back together in 2001, releasing the Top 40 album Cruelty Without Beauty.
After another break, they reappeared in 2018, issuing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was supposed to be a final performance at the O2 Arena on September 30, 2018.
Yet, they remained together, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.
Ball lately described the band's upcoming release as a tribute to the New York club scene they visited while recording their first two albums.
He noted that his period in medical care had shaped the group's music.
"I had strange recollections when I was in and out of the hospital because I was on pain medication," he explained to a publication.
"Our latest tracks are a electronic representation of the noises in my mind from that time.
"Simultaneously, it's about the times me and Marc got up to in the 80s."
The last versions were completed only days before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for launch in Spring 2026.
