Dave Ball, one half of the innovative 1980s synth-pop band Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Alongside vocalist Marc Almond, the pair scored a worldwide hit with their cover of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in 1984, and their first record their initial full-length release is considered a classic of electronic music.
He later founded the pioneering 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 Wednesday 22 October, only a short time after performing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in Henley-on-Thames.
Recent Health Challenges
During that show, Ball appeared in a wheelchair, as he had for the previous couple of years, following a spate of health issues.
"I ended up injure myself quite a bit," he stated in a recent interview. "I broke lower vertebrae in my spine and cracked about five ribs and broke my wrist."
After catching pneumonia and developing blood poisoning, he was put in an induced coma and remained in the hospital for half a year.
Nevertheless, he had been in "a great place mentally" over the summer, as he was developing a fresh record with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is set for publication next year.
"He was concentrated and very pleased with the latest project that we literally finished only a few days ago," said the singer in a tribute.
"It's so sad 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 masterpiece."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond referred to his bandmate as "a wonderfully brilliant musical genius", adding: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our body of work.
"Many thanks Dave for being an immense aspect of my existence and for the songs you gave me. I couldn't be where I am without you."
Richard Norris from The Grid, also paid tribute, recalling Ball's "constant humor" and "unwavering friendship".
"Forming a partnership with someone is different from being in a band, the bond is incredibly close," he added.
"That was the case with us. We experienced so many extraordinary, extraordinary, memorable experiences as a team. Many thanks, Dave."
Early Life
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 old.
He grew up in the seaside town with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his first name from his birth name to his adopted name, together with his younger sister Susan, who was similarly welcomed.
He encountered Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both studying art. Fuelled by a shared love of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the very year, and quickly recorded an EP.
Creative Collaboration
The duo were an distinctive combination: Ball was the quiet musician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all glitter and eye-liner; but they achieved a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with electronic instruments after viewing the band Kraftwerk appear on BBC program a popular series, and began to combine moody electronic sounds to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling single of the early 80s, selling millions of copies globally. Alongside successful tracks by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it contributed to paved the way for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.
The track was also included on their first album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which spawned two additional top five hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the record up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which peaked at the second position in 1982.
Career Highlights
Fame had its benefits. "I loved being able to purchase my first home, having financial security 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 allowed we could purchase substances to alleviate the monotony" of press appearances and TV performances, Ball explained.
"I know that's a common saying, but it's a cliché for a good reason, because it applies for so many bands."
Amidst the hedonistic lifestyle, the duo were also drifting apart, but they managed to produce a second memorable record - the wayward, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out one more album, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group to focus on other projects.
Almond went on to have a successful solo career, featuring the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who mixed acid house with ambient pop over a long-lasting collaboration.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, releasing the Top 40 album Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following a further break, they returned 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 O2 Arena on 30 September, 2018.
Yet, they remained together, recording their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic restrictions.
Ball lately described the band's upcoming release as a tribute to the NYC nightlife they frequented while making their first two albums.
He added that his period in hospital had influenced the group's music.
"I had strange recollections when I was in and out of the hospital because I was on pain medication," he told a publication.
"The new songs are a electronic representation of the sounds in my mind from that time.
"In parallel, it's about the experiences we had in the 80s."
The final mixes were finished only a short time before Ball died. It is scheduled for release in the spring of 2026.
