Dave Ball, a key member of the innovative 1980s synth-pop duo Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Alongside vocalist Marc Almond, the pair achieved a global success with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a classic of synth-pop.
He subsequently founded the innovative techno group The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully in his sleep at his residence in London on Wednesday 22 October, only a short time after playing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in Henley-on-Thames.
Health Struggles
At that performance, Ball performed in a mobility chair, as he had for the last two years, after a spate of health issues.
"I managed to injure myself significantly," he stated in a recent interview. "I broke spinal bones in my spine and cracked about five ribs and fractured my wrist."
After contracting pneumonia and suffering from blood poisoning, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and stayed in the hospital for seven months.
However, he had been in "high spirits mentally" during the warmer months, as he worked on a new album with Almond, called the upcoming Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication next year.
"He was focused and very pleased with the latest project that we literally finished only a short time ago," stated the singer in a heartfelt message.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was completely planned to be such an positive time for him, and I take some solace from the fact that he heard the finished record and believed that it was a masterpiece."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond described his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant musical genius", stating: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our legacy.
"Thank you Dave for being an immense part of my life and for the songs you gave me. I wouldn't be where I am without your influence."
Richard Norris from The Grid, also paid tribute, remembering Ball's "endless laughter" and "unwavering friendship".
"Being in a duo with someone is distinct from being in a band, the connection is very tight," he added.
"That was the case with us. We experienced so many remarkable, extraordinary, life-affirming moments as a team. Many thanks, Dave."
Early Life
Born into a single-parent household in the city of Chester in 1959, Ball was put up for adoption when he was a year and a half old.
He was raised in Blackpool with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who altered his first name from Paul to his adopted name, alongside his younger sister his sister, who was also adopted.
He encountered Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both learning fine arts. Inspired by a shared love of Northern Soul, they formed Soft Cell the very year, and quickly produced an EP.
Creative Collaboration
The pair were an unusual pairing: Ball was the reserved technician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant showman, all glitter and makeup; but they attained a unique creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with synthesizers after viewing the band Kraftwerk appear on a television program a popular series, and started to marry moody electronic sounds to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling single of the early 80s, shifting 21 million copies worldwide. Alongside successful tracks by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it contributed to cleared the way for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.
The track was also featured on their first album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which spawned two further high-charting hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the album up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at the second position in 1982.
Professional Journey
Fame had its upsides. "I enjoyed being able to afford my first home, having financial security and travelling, which might seem like a beauty queen," Ball not long ago shared with a music magazine.
But it also caused problems. "Newfound wealth meant we could purchase newfound drugs to alleviate the monotony" of media interviews and TV performances, Ball said.
"I realize that's a common saying, but it's a cliché for a valid cause, because it applies for so many musicians."
During the hedonistic lifestyle, the pair were also drifting apart, but they succeeded to create a follow-up classic album - the wayward, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released one more album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the group to focus on other projects.
Almond went on to have a successful solo career, including the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who combined dance music with melodic sounds over a long-lasting collaboration.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, producing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following a further hiatus, they returned in 2018, issuing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was intended to be a final performance at the large venue on 30 September, 2018.
However, they stayed together, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.
Ball lately characterized the duo's new album as a homage to the NYC nightlife they visited while recording their first two albums.
He added that his time in hospital had shaped the group's music.
"I had strange recollections when I was coming and going of hospital because I was on pain medication," he told a publication.
"The new songs are a electronic representation of the sounds in my mind from that time.
"Simultaneously, it's about the times me and Marc got up to in the 1980s."
The last versions were completed only days before Ball died. It is due for release in Spring 2026.
