Dave Ball, a key member of the innovative 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Alongside vocalist Marc Almond, the duo achieved a global success 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 electronic music.
He subsequently founded the innovative electronic act The Grid, who achieved popular acclaim with their 1994 single the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball died peacefully in his rest at his residence in London on October 22, only a short time after performing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in the Thames-side town.
Recent Health Challenges
During that show, Ball appeared in a wheelchair, as he had for the last two years, following a period of ill-health.
"I ended up damage myself quite a bit," he stated in a recent interview. "I broke spinal bones in my spine and fractured about five ribs and fractured my wrist."
After contracting a lung infection and developing sepsis, he was placed in an induced coma and remained in hospital for seven months.
Nevertheless, he had been in "a great place emotionally" over the summer, as he was developing a new album with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is set for release in the coming year.
"He was focused and very pleased with the new album that we literally finished only a few days 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 listened to the completed album and felt that it was a masterpiece."
Tributes
Almond referred to his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant musical genius", stating: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our body of work.
"Many thanks 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 "endless laughter" and "unwavering friendship".
"Forming a partnership with someone is distinct from being in a band, the bond is very tight," he added.
"That was the case with us. We experienced so many extraordinary, extraordinary, memorable experiences together. Thank you, Dave."
Formative Years
Brought into the world into a single-parent household in the city of Chester in 1959, Ball was given up for adoption when he was 18 months of age.
He was raised in the seaside town with his new family Donald and Brenda Ball, who altered his first name from Paul to his adopted name, together with his sibling his sister, who was similarly welcomed.
He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both studying art. Fuelled by a mutual passion of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the very year, and promptly recorded an EP.
Musical Partnership
The duo were an distinctive pairing: Ball was the reserved technician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all sparkle and makeup; but they attained a rare creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with electronic instruments after watching Kraftwerk appear on a television science show Tomorrow's World, and started to combine moody electronic sounds to the catchy tunes Almond was composing.
Their signature song became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling single of 1981, shifting 21 million copies worldwide. Alongside hits by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it contributed to cleared the path for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The track was also included on their full-length debut, their initial LP, which spawned two additional top five singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the record up with the separate release, Torch, which peaked at the second position in the following year.
Professional Journey
Fame had its upsides. "I enjoyed being able to purchase my first home, having money and travelling, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball not long ago shared with a music magazine.
But it also caused problems. "Sudden riches allowed we could purchase substances to relieve the boredom" of press appearances and television shows, Ball explained.
"I realize that's a common saying, but it's a truism 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 classic album - the unconventional, edgy and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released another LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the group to concentrate on other projects.
Almond went on to have a successful solo career, featuring the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who combined acid house with ambient pop over a enduring collaboration.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell reunited in 2001, releasing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following a further hiatus, they reappeared in 2018, releasing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was intended to be a farewell show at the large venue on September 30, that year.
However, they stayed active, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.
Ball recently characterized the duo's upcoming release as a homage to the New York club scene they visited while recording their initial records.
He noted that his period in medical care had shaped the band's sound.
"I had strange recollections when I was in and out of hospital because I was on pain medication," he told a publication.
"The new songs are a digital reflection of the sounds in my head from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the times we got up to in the 80s."
The final mixes were finished only days before Ball passed away. It is due for release in Spring 2026.
