Dave Ball, a key member of the pioneering 1980s synth-pop band Soft Cell, has passed away 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 debut album their initial full-length release is regarded as a classic of electronic music.
He subsequently formed the pioneering electronic act 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 headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in Henley-on-Thames.
Health Struggles
At that show, Ball appeared in a mobility chair, as he had for the previous couple of years, following a spate of health issues.
"I managed to damage myself quite a bit," he commented in a recent interview. "I broke spinal bones in my back and cracked about multiple ribs and broke my wrist."
After contracting a lung infection and suffering from blood poisoning, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and stayed in hospital for half a year.
Nevertheless, he had been in "high spirits emotionally" over the summer, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, called Danceteria, which is set for release next year.
"He was concentrated and so happy with the latest project that we actually completed only a short time ago," stated the vocalist in a tribute.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was all set to be such an uplifting time for him, and I find comfort from the fact that he heard the finished record and believed that it was a masterpiece."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond described his bandmate as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", stating: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our legacy.
"Many thanks Dave for being an immense aspect of my life and for the songs you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without your influence."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, shared his condolences, remembering Ball's "endless laughter" and "unwavering friendship".
"Forming a duo with someone is different from being in a band, the connection is incredibly close," he added.
"That's how it was with us. We experienced so many extraordinary, extraordinary, life-affirming experiences as a team. Thank you, Dave."
Formative Years
Brought into the world into a single-parent household 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 his caregivers, who altered his given name from his birth name to David, alongside his sibling Susan, who was similarly welcomed.
He met Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both learning fine arts. Fuelled by a mutual passion of Northern Soul, they established Soft Cell the same year, and promptly produced an extended play.
Creative Collaboration
The pair were an distinctive pairing: Ball was the quiet musician, hunched over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all glitter and eye-liner; but they attained a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had developed a interest with electronic instruments after watching Kraftwerk appear on a television program Tomorrow's World, and started to marry moody electronic sounds to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.
Their signature song became the United Kingdom's second most popular single of 1981, selling millions of copies worldwide. Alongside hits by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it contributed to cleared the path for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.
The song was also included on their first album, their initial LP, which spawned two further top five hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the album up with the separate release, Torch, which peaked at the second position in the following year.
Professional Journey
Success had its benefits. "I loved being able to afford my first home, having money and travelling, which might seem like a beauty queen," Ball not long ago shared with a music magazine.
But it also caused challenges. "Newfound wealth meant we could purchase newfound drugs to alleviate the boredom" of media interviews and television shows, Ball explained.
"I realize that's a common saying, but it's a cliché for a valid cause, because it applies for so many bands."
Amidst the party-filled existence, the pair were also growing distant, but they succeeded to produce a second classic album - the unconventional, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released another album, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band to concentrate on individual endeavors.
Almond proceeded to have a prosperous individual path, featuring the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who combined acid house with ambient pop over a enduring partnership.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, producing the charting album Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following another hiatus, they returned in 2018, issuing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was supposed to be a farewell show at the O2 Arena on September 30, 2018.
However, they stayed active, recording their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.
Ball lately described the duo's new album as a tribute to the NYC nightlife they visited while recording their initial records.
He added that his period in medical care had influenced the band's sound.
"I experienced unusual memories 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.
"Simultaneously, it's about the times we got up to in the 80s."
The final mixes were completed only a short time before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for launch in the spring of 2026.
