Dave Ball, a key member of the pioneering 1980s synth-pop duo Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the team scored a global success with their version 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 formed the innovative electronic act The Grid, who achieved popular acclaim with 1994's Swamp Thing.
Ball died peacefully in his rest at his home in London on Wednesday 22 October, only a short time after playing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in Henley-on-Thames.
Health Struggles
At that performance, Ball performed in a wheelchair, as he had for the previous couple of years, after a period of health issues.
"I managed to injure myself quite a bit," he commented in 2023. "I fractured spinal bones in my back and fractured about multiple ribs and broke my wrist."
After contracting pneumonia and suffering from blood poisoning, he was put in an induced coma and remained in the hospital for half a year.
However, he had been in "a great place mentally" during the warmer months, as he was developing a new album with Almond, titled the upcoming Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication in the coming year.
"He was focused and so happy with the new album that we actually finished only a few days ago," stated the vocalist in a heartfelt message.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was all set to be such an positive time for him, and I take some solace from the fact that he heard the finished record and felt that it was a great piece of work."
Tributes
Almond described his collaborator as "an exceptionally talented musical genius", adding: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our legacy.
"Thank you Dave for being an immense aspect of my life and for the songs you created with me. I wouldn't be where I am without you."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, shared his condolences, remembering Ball's "constant humor" and "unwavering friendship".
"Being in a duo with someone is distinct from being in a band, the connection is incredibly close," he added.
"That was the case with us. We went through so many remarkable, incredible, memorable experiences together. Many thanks, Dave."
Early Life
Born into a one-parent family in Chester in 1959, Ball was put up for adoption when he was 18 months of age.
He was raised in the seaside town with adoptive parents his caregivers, who changed his given name from Paul to his adopted name, alongside his younger sister his sister, who was similarly welcomed.
He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in the late 70s, where they were both learning fine arts. Fuelled by a shared love of Northern Soul, they established Soft Cell the very year, and promptly produced an EP.
Musical Partnership
The duo were an unusual combination: Ball was the quiet technician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant showman, all glitter and eye-liner; but they attained a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with electronic instruments after watching the band Kraftwerk appear on a television science show a popular series, and started to combine moody electronic sounds to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling song of the early 80s, shifting millions of copies globally. Alongside successful tracks by other artists, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it contributed to paved the path for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The song was also featured on their full-length debut, their initial LP, which produced two additional high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the record up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at number two in the following year.
Career Highlights
Success had its benefits. "I loved being able to purchase my initial property, having financial security and travelling, which makes me sound like a Miss World," Ball not long ago told with a music magazine.
But it also caused challenges. "Sudden riches allowed we could purchase newfound drugs to relieve the monotony" of media interviews and TV performances, Ball explained.
"I know that's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a good reason, because it applies for so many musicians."
During the hedonistic lifestyle, the pair were also growing distant, but they managed to create a follow-up classic album - the unconventional, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released one more LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the group to focus on individual endeavors.
Almond proceeded to have a successful individual path, featuring the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who mixed acid house with ambient pop over a long-lasting partnership.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell came back together in the early 2000s, producing the charting record Cruelty Without Beauty.
After a further hiatus, 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 large venue on 30 September, that year.
However, they stayed active, recording their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.
Ball recently described the duo's new album as a homage to the New York club scene they frequented while recording their initial records.
He added that his time in medical care had shaped the group's music.
"I had unusual memories when I was in and out of the hospital because I was on morphine," he explained to a music magazine.
"The new songs are a electronic representation of the sounds in my mind from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the times we had in the 80s."
The last versions were completed only days before Ball died. It is scheduled for launch in Spring 2026.
