Dave Ball, a key member of the innovative 1980s synth-pop duo Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the pair achieved a global success with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record their initial full-length release is considered a classic of electronic music.
He later founded the pioneering electronic act The Grid, who achieved chart success with 1994's Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his sleep at his home in London on Wednesday 22 October, just weeks after performing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in the Thames-side town.
Health Struggles
During that performance, Ball performed in a mobility chair, as he had for the previous couple of years, after a period of ill-health.
"I managed to injure myself quite a bit," he commented in a recent interview. "I broke lower vertebrae in my spine and fractured about five ribs and fractured my wrist."
After catching a lung infection and suffering from blood poisoning, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and remained in hospital for half a year.
However, he had been in "a great place mentally" during the summer, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, called Danceteria, which is scheduled for release in the coming year.
"He was focused and very pleased with the latest project that we actually completed only a few days ago," stated the singer in a tribute.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was all set to be such an positive year for him, and I take some solace from the knowledge that he heard the completed album and felt that it was a masterpiece."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond described his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", stating: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our legacy.
"Thank you Dave for being an significant part of my existence and for the songs you gave me. I couldn't be where I am without you."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, also paid tribute, remembering Ball's "constant humor" and "unwavering friendship".
"Being in a partnership with someone is distinct from joining a group, the bond is incredibly close," he added.
"That's how it was with us. We went through so many extraordinary, incredible, memorable experiences as a team. Thank you, Dave."
Early Life
Born into a one-parent family in Chester in the late 50s, 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 altered 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 Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both learning fine arts. Fuelled by a shared love of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the very year, and quickly recorded an extended play.
Musical Partnership
The duo were an distinctive combination: Ball was the quiet musician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all glitter and makeup; but they achieved a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had developed a fascination with synthesizers after watching Kraftwerk appear on BBC science show a popular series, and began to marry dark electronica to the catchy tunes Almond was composing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second most popular song of the early 80s, shifting millions of units globally. Together with successful tracks by other artists, Human League and Ultravox, it contributed to cleared the way for the synth-pop sound of the 80s.
The song was also featured on their first album, their initial LP, which produced two further high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the record up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which peaked at number two in the following year.
Professional Journey
Fame had its benefits. "I enjoyed being able to purchase my first home, having financial security and travelling, which makes me sound like a Miss World," Ball recently shared with a publication.
But it also caused challenges. "Newfound wealth allowed we could purchase substances to alleviate the monotony" of press appearances and TV performances, Ball said.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a valid cause, because it applies for so many musicians."
Amidst the party-filled existence, the duo were also growing distant, but they succeeded to produce a follow-up classic album - the wayward, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out another album, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group to concentrate on individual endeavors.
Almond proceeded to have a prosperous individual path, including the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who mixed dance music with ambient pop over a long-lasting collaboration.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell reunited in 2001, producing the charting record Cruelty Without Beauty.
After another hiatus, they returned in recent years, issuing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was intended to be a final performance at the O2 Arena on 30 September, that year.
Yet, they stayed together, recording their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.
Ball lately characterized the band's new album as a tribute to the NYC nightlife they frequented while recording their first two albums.
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 the hospital because I was on morphine," he explained to a publication.
"Our latest tracks are a electronic representation of the sounds in my mind from that time.
"Simultaneously, it's about the times we had in the 80s."
The final mixes were completed only days before Ball died. It is due for release in the spring of 2026.
