Dave Ball, one half of the groundbreaking 1980s synth-pop duo Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the duo achieved a worldwide hit with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their debut album their initial full-length release is considered a classic of synth-pop.
He later founded the innovative techno group The Grid, who achieved chart success with their 1994 single Swamp Thing.
Ball died calmly in his sleep at his home in London on October 22, only a short time after performing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in the Thames-side town.
Health Struggles
During that show, Ball appeared in a mobility chair, as he had for the last two years, following a period of health issues.
"I ended up damage myself significantly," he stated in 2023. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my spine and fractured about five ribs and fractured my arm."
Following catching pneumonia and suffering from sepsis, he was placed in an medically-induced sleep and remained in hospital for half a year.
However, he had been in "a great place mentally" during the warmer months, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is set for publication next year.
"He was focused and very pleased with the latest project that we actually completed only a short time ago," stated the singer in a heartfelt message.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was all set to be such an positive year for him, and I find comfort from the knowledge that he heard the finished record and believed that it was a great piece of work."
Tributes
Almond described his collaborator as "an exceptionally talented creative mastermind", stating: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our legacy.
"Many thanks Dave for being an immense aspect of my life and for the music you created with me. I wouldn't be where I am without you."
Richard Norris from The Grid, also paid tribute, remembering Ball's "constant humor" and "steadfast support".
"Being in a duo with someone is different from being in a group, the connection is incredibly close," he added.
"That's how it was with us. We experienced so many remarkable, extraordinary, life-affirming experiences as a team. Thank you, Dave."
Formative Years
Brought into the world into a one-parent family in the city of Chester in the late 50s, 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 first name from Paul to David, alongside his sibling Susan, who was also adopted.
He encountered Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both learning art. Inspired by a mutual passion of Northern Soul, they established Soft Cell the same year, and promptly produced an extended play.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an unusual combination: Ball was the quiet musician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a charismatic showman, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they attained a unique creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with synthesizers after viewing Kraftwerk perform on a television program a popular series, and started to combine moody electronic sounds to the catchy tunes Almond was composing.
Their signature song became the UK's second biggest-selling single of the early 80s, shifting millions of units worldwide. Together with hits by other artists, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it contributed to cleared the path for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.
The track was also featured on their first album, their initial LP, which produced two further top five hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the album up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which peaked at number two in the following year.
Career Highlights
Success had its upsides. "I enjoyed being able to purchase my first home, having financial security and travelling, which makes me sound like a Miss World," Ball recently told with a publication.
But it also caused problems. "Sudden riches meant we could purchase substances to relieve the boredom" of press appearances and television shows, Ball explained.
"I know that's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a valid cause, because it works for so many musicians."
Amidst the hedonistic lifestyle, the duo were also drifting apart, but they managed to produce a second classic album - the unconventional, edgy and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released another album, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the group to concentrate on other projects.
Almond went on to have a prosperous solo career, featuring the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who mixed acid house with ambient pop over a enduring collaboration.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, producing the charting record Cruelty Without Beauty.
After a further hiatus, they reappeared in recent years, releasing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was supposed to be a final performance at the O2 Arena on September 30, 2018.
However, they remained together, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.
Ball lately described the duo's upcoming release as a homage to the New York club scene they frequented while making their first two albums.
He noted that his period in hospital 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 explained to a music magazine.
"The new songs are a electronic representation of the sounds in my mind from those days.
"In parallel, it's about the experiences we had in the 80s."
The final mixes were completed only a short time before Ball died. It is scheduled for release in Spring 2026.
