Dave Ball, one half of the pioneering 1980s electronic music band 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 1984, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a seminal work of electronic music.
He later formed the pioneering techno group The Grid, who secured chart success with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his sleep at his residence in London on Wednesday 22 October, only a short time after performing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in the Thames-side town.
Recent Health Challenges
At that performance, Ball performed in a mobility chair, as he had for the last two years, following a spate of ill-health.
"I managed to damage myself significantly," he stated in a recent interview. "I fractured spinal bones in my back and fractured about multiple ribs and broke my wrist."
Following contracting pneumonia and developing blood poisoning, he was put in an induced coma and stayed in hospital for half a year.
Nevertheless, he had been in "high spirits mentally" over the summer, as he was developing a fresh record with Almond, called the upcoming Danceteria, which is scheduled for release next year.
"He was concentrated and so happy with the new album that we literally finished only a few days ago," said the vocalist in a heartfelt message.
"It's so sad as next year was all set to be such an uplifting time for him, and I find comfort from the knowledge that he listened to the finished record and believed that it was a great piece of work."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond described his collaborator as "an exceptionally talented musical genius", stating: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our legacy.
"Thank you Dave for being an significant aspect of my existence and for the music 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 joining a group, the connection is incredibly close," he continued.
"That's how it was with us. We went through so many remarkable, incredible, life-affirming moments as a team. Many thanks, Dave."
Formative Years
Born into a single-parent household in Chester in the late 50s, Ball was given up for adoption when he was a year and a half old.
He grew up in the seaside town with adoptive parents his caregivers, who changed his given name from Paul to David, alongside his sibling his sister, who was similarly welcomed.
He encountered Almond at an art college in the late 70s, where they were both studying art. Fuelled by a shared love of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the very year, and quickly produced an EP.
Creative Collaboration
The pair were an unusual pairing: Ball was the quiet musician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all glitter and eye-liner; but they achieved a rare musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with electronic instruments after viewing the band Kraftwerk appear on BBC program a popular series, and started to combine dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second most popular song of the early 80s, selling 21 million units globally. Together with hits by other artists, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it helped cleared the way for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The track was also included on their full-length debut, their initial LP, which produced two further high-charting hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the record up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which reached at number two in the following year.
Career Highlights
Success had its benefits. "I enjoyed being able to afford my initial property, having financial security and exploring, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball recently told with a music magazine.
But it also caused challenges. "Sudden riches allowed we could afford newfound drugs to alleviate the boredom" of press appearances and TV performances, Ball said.
"I know that's a common saying, but it's a cliché for a good reason, because it works for so many musicians."
Amidst the party-filled existence, the pair were also drifting apart, but they succeeded to produce a follow-up memorable record - the unconventional, edgy and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out one more album, 1984's 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 formed The Grid, who mixed acid house with ambient pop over a enduring collaboration.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell reunited in 2001, producing the charting album Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following another hiatus, they returned in recent years, issuing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was intended to be a final performance at the large venue on September 30, that year.
However, they stayed together, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.
Ball lately characterized the duo's upcoming release as a homage to the New York club scene they frequented while making their initial records.
He noted that his period in hospital had influenced the group's music.
"I had unusual memories when I was in and out of hospital because I was on pain medication," he told a music magazine.
"The new songs are a digital reflection of the noises in my head from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the times we got up to in the 80s."
The final mixes were completed only days before Ball died. It is scheduled for release in Spring 2026.
