Dave Ball, a key member of the pioneering 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Together with singer Marc Almond, the duo scored a worldwide hit with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in 1984, and their debut album their initial full-length release is considered a seminal work of synth-pop.
He subsequently founded the innovative electronic act The Grid, who achieved chart success with 1994's Swamp Thing.
Ball died calmly in his rest 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 show, Ball appeared in a wheelchair, 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 multiple ribs and broke my wrist."
After catching a lung infection and developing sepsis, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and remained in the hospital for half a year.
However, he had been in "a great place emotionally" over the warmer months, as he was developing a fresh record with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is scheduled for release in the coming year.
"He was concentrated and so happy with the latest project that we literally finished only a short time ago," stated the vocalist in a heartfelt message.
"It's so sad as 2026 was completely planned to be such an uplifting time for him, and I take some solace from the fact that he heard the finished record and believed that it was a great piece of work."
Tributes
Almond described his bandmate as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", stating: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our legacy.
"Thank you Dave for being an significant part of my life and for the music you created with me. I wouldn't be where I am without your influence."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, shared his condolences, recalling Ball's "endless laughter" and "steadfast support".
"Being in a partnership with someone is distinct from being in a group, the bond is incredibly close," he added.
"That was the case with us. We went through so many remarkable, extraordinary, life-affirming experiences as a team. Thank you, Dave."
Formative Years
Born into a one-parent family in the city of Chester in 1959, Ball was put up for adoption when he was 18 months 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 David, together with his younger sister Susan, who was also adopted.
He encountered Almond at an art college in the late 70s, where they were both learning art. Fuelled by a shared love of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the same year, and quickly recorded an EP.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an distinctive combination: Ball was the reserved technician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all glitter and makeup; but they achieved a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with electronic instruments after viewing the band Kraftwerk perform on a television science show Tomorrow's World, and started to combine dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.
Their signature song became the UK's second biggest-selling song of the early 80s, shifting millions of copies worldwide. Alongside successful tracks by other artists, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it helped paved the path for the synth-pop sound of the 80s.
The track was also featured on their first album, their initial LP, which spawned two additional high-charting hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the album up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which peaked at the second position in the following year.
Professional Journey
Fame had its upsides. "I loved being able to afford my initial property, having money and travelling, which makes me sound like a Miss World," Ball recently shared with a music magazine.
But it also presented challenges. "Newfound wealth meant we could purchase substances to relieve the boredom" of press appearances and television shows, Ball said.
"I realize that's a common saying, but it's a truism for a good reason, because it applies for so many musicians."
Amidst the hedonistic lifestyle, the duo were also growing distant, but they succeeded to produce a follow-up classic album - the wayward, edgy and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released one more album, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group to focus on other projects.
Almond proceeded to have a successful individual path, 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 partnership.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell came back together in 2001, releasing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following another break, they returned in recent years, 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 O2 Arena on September 30, 2018.
However, they remained active, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic restrictions.
Ball lately characterized the duo's new album as a tribute to the New York club scene they visited while recording their first two albums.
He added that his time in hospital 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 music magazine.
"The new songs are a electronic representation of the noises in my mind from that time.
"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences me and Marc got up to in the 80s."
The final mixes were completed only days before Ball passed away. It is due for release in Spring 2026.
