Dave Ball, a key member of the innovative 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Alongside vocalist Marc Almond, the duo achieved a global success with their version of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in 1984, and their debut album their initial full-length release is regarded as a classic of electronic music.
He later founded the pioneering electronic act The Grid, who secured chart success with their 1994 single Swamp Thing.
Ball died peacefully in his rest at his home in London on Wednesday 22 October, only a short time after playing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in the Thames-side town.
Recent Health Challenges
At that performance, Ball performed in a wheelchair, as he had for the previous couple of years, after a period of health issues.
"I ended up damage myself significantly," he commented in a recent interview. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my back and cracked about five ribs and fractured my wrist."
Following contracting pneumonia and suffering from blood poisoning, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and stayed in the hospital for half a year.
However, he had been in "a great place emotionally" over the summer, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, called Danceteria, which is scheduled for release in the coming year.
"He was concentrated and so happy with the new album that we literally finished only a short time ago," said the singer in a tribute.
"It's so sad as next year was completely planned to be such an positive year for him, and I find comfort from the fact that he heard the completed album and believed that it was a masterpiece."
Tributes
Almond described his bandmate as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", stating: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our legacy.
"Thank you Dave for being an immense aspect of my life and for the songs you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without your influence."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, shared his condolences, recalling Ball's "constant humor" and "unwavering friendship".
"Forming a partnership with someone is different from joining a group, the bond is incredibly close," he added.
"That was the case with us. We experienced so many remarkable, extraordinary, life-affirming moments together. Thank you, Dave."
Formative Years
Brought into the world into a one-parent family in the city of Chester in the late 50s, Ball was given up for adoption when he was 18 months old.
He grew up in the seaside town with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who altered his first name from Paul to David, together with his sibling his sister, who was also adopted.
He encountered 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 same year, and promptly recorded an EP.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an unusual pairing: Ball was the reserved musician, hunched over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all sparkle and makeup; but they attained a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with electronic instruments after watching Kraftwerk appear on BBC program 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, selling 21 million units globally. Together with hits by other artists, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it contributed to cleared the path for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The song was also included on their full-length debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which spawned two further high-charting hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the album up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which reached at number two in the following year.
Career Highlights
Fame had its upsides. "I loved being able to purchase my first home, having money and travelling, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball not long ago shared with a publication.
But it also caused problems. "Sudden riches meant we could afford newfound drugs to alleviate the boredom" of media interviews and television shows, Ball said.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a valid cause, because it works for so many musicians."
Amidst the party-filled existence, the pair were also drifting apart, but they managed to create a follow-up classic album - the wayward, edgy and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released another LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the band to focus on individual endeavors.
Almond proceeded to have a successful solo career, featuring the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who mixed dance music with melodic sounds over a enduring collaboration.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell came back together in 2001, releasing the charting album Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following another break, they returned in recent years, issuing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was supposed to be a final performance at the O2 Arena on 30 September, that year.
However, they remained together, recording their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.
Ball lately characterized the duo's upcoming release as a homage to the NYC nightlife they frequented while making their initial records.
He noted that his period in medical care had shaped the band's sound.
"I experienced strange recollections when I was coming and going of hospital because I was on pain medication," he explained to a music magazine.
"Our latest tracks are a electronic representation of the sounds in my mind from that time.
"In parallel, it's about the times we got up to in the 1980s."
The last versions were completed only a short time before Ball died. It is scheduled for release in the spring of 2026.
