Dave Ball, one half of the innovative 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 version of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in 1984, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a classic of synth-pop.
He subsequently founded the innovative electronic act The Grid, who achieved chart success with 1994's Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his sleep at his residence in London on October 22, only a short time after playing 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 spate of health issues.
"I managed to injure myself quite a bit," he commented in a recent interview. "I fractured spinal bones in my back and fractured about multiple ribs and broke my arm."
After contracting pneumonia and developing sepsis, he was put in an induced coma and stayed in the hospital for seven months.
Nevertheless, he had been in "high spirits emotionally" over the warmer months, as he was developing a new album with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication in the coming year.
"He was concentrated and very pleased with the new album that we literally finished only a short time ago," stated the vocalist in a heartfelt message.
"It's so sad as next year was completely planned to be such an uplifting time for him, and I find comfort from the knowledge that he listened to the completed album and believed that it was a great piece of work."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond described his bandmate as "an exceptionally talented musical genius", adding: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our legacy.
"Many thanks Dave for being an significant aspect of my existence and for the songs you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without your influence."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, also paid tribute, remembering Ball's "constant humor" and "steadfast support".
"Forming a partnership with someone is different from being in a band, the bond is very tight," he added.
"That was the case with us. We experienced so many extraordinary, incredible, life-affirming experiences together. Many thanks, Dave."
Formative Years
Brought into the world into a one-parent family 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 his new family his caregivers, who altered his given 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 1977, where they were both studying fine arts. Fuelled by a mutual passion of Northern Soul, they established Soft Cell the same year, and promptly recorded an extended play.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an distinctive combination: Ball was the reserved musician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all sparkle and makeup; but they attained a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had developed a fascination with electronic instruments after viewing the band Kraftwerk perform on BBC program Tomorrow's World, and began to marry moody electronic sounds to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling single of 1981, selling millions of copies globally. Alongside hits by other artists, Human League and Ultravox, it helped paved the path for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.
The track was also featured on their full-length debut, their initial LP, which produced two additional high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the record up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which peaked at the second position 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 might seem like a Miss World," Ball recently told with a publication.
But it also presented challenges. "Newfound wealth allowed we could afford substances to relieve the monotony" of media interviews and TV performances, 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."
During the party-filled existence, the pair were also growing distant, but they managed to produce a follow-up memorable record - the unconventional, edgy and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released one more album, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the group to focus on individual endeavors.
Almond proceeded to have a successful solo career, featuring the top 10 hit 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 charting album Cruelty Without Beauty.
After a further break, they returned in 2018, releasing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was intended to be a final performance at the O2 Arena on 30 September, 2018.
Yet, they remained active, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.
Ball recently characterized the band's new album as a tribute to the New York club scene they visited while recording their first two albums.
He noted that his time in medical care had shaped the group's music.
"I experienced unusual memories when I was coming and going of hospital because I was on morphine," he explained to a music magazine.
"The new songs are a digital reflection of the noises in my head from those days.
"In parallel, it's about the times we got up to in the 1980s."
The last versions were completed only a short time before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for launch in Spring 2026.
