Dave Ball, a key member of the innovative 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the team achieved a global success with their version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in 1984, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a classic of electronic music.
He subsequently formed the innovative techno group The Grid, who achieved chart success with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his sleep at his home in London on Wednesday 22 October, just weeks after playing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in the Thames-side town.
Recent Health Challenges
At that show, Ball performed in a mobility chair, as he had for the previous couple of years, following a period of health issues.
"I managed to injure myself significantly," he commented in 2023. "I broke lower vertebrae in my back and fractured about multiple ribs and fractured my arm."
Following catching a lung infection and suffering from blood poisoning, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and stayed in hospital for seven months.
Nevertheless, he had been in "high spirits emotionally" during the summer, as he worked on a new album with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is set for publication in the coming year.
"He was focused and very pleased with the new album that we literally completed only a short time ago," said the vocalist in a heartfelt message.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was all set 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."
Tributes
Almond described his bandmate as "a wonderfully brilliant musical genius", stating: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our legacy.
"Thank you 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."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, also paid tribute, recalling Ball's "constant humor" and "steadfast support".
"Forming a partnership with someone is distinct from joining a band, the bond is very tight," he added.
"That was the case with us. We experienced so many remarkable, extraordinary, memorable moments together. Thank you, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a one-parent family in Chester in the late 50s, Ball was given up for adoption when he was a year and a half of age.
He was raised in the seaside town with his new family his caregivers, who changed his first name from Paul to David, alongside his younger sister his sister, who was similarly welcomed.
He met Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in the late 70s, where they were both studying fine arts. Inspired by a shared love of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the very year, and promptly recorded an EP.
Creative Collaboration
The pair were an unusual pairing: Ball was the quiet musician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant showman, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they achieved a rare musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with electronic instruments after watching the band Kraftwerk perform on BBC program Tomorrow's World, and began to combine dark electronica to the catchy tunes Almond was composing.
Their signature song became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling song of 1981, selling 21 million units worldwide. Alongside successful tracks by other artists, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it helped paved the way for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.
The song was also featured on their full-length debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which spawned two further top five hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the record up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which reached at the second position in the following year.
Professional Journey
Fame had its upsides. "I loved being able to purchase my initial property, having money and exploring, which makes me sound like a Miss World," Ball recently told with a music magazine.
But it also presented challenges. "Sudden riches meant we could purchase newfound drugs to alleviate the boredom" of press appearances and TV performances, Ball explained.
"I know that's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a valid cause, because it works for so many bands."
During the party-filled existence, the pair were also drifting apart, but they succeeded to create a follow-up memorable record - the wayward, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out another LP, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the group to focus on other projects.
Almond proceeded to have a successful solo career, including the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who mixed dance music with melodic sounds over a long-lasting collaboration.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell came back together in 2001, producing the Top 40 album Cruelty Without Beauty.
After another break, they returned in recent years, releasing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was intended to be a final performance at the large venue on September 30, 2018.
However, they stayed active, recording their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.
Ball recently 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 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 publication.
"Our latest tracks are a digital reflection of the noises in my mind from that time.
"In parallel, it's about the experiences me and Marc got up to in the 1980s."
The final mixes were completed only days before Ball died. It is scheduled for release in the spring of 2026.
