Dave Ball, one half of the groundbreaking 1980s synth-pop band Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Alongside vocalist Marc Almond, the pair scored a worldwide hit with their version of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record their initial full-length release is considered a classic of electronic music.
He subsequently founded the pioneering techno group The Grid, who achieved popular acclaim with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball died calmly in his rest at his home in London on October 22, just weeks after playing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in the Thames-side town.
Recent Health Challenges
During that show, Ball appeared in a mobility chair, as he had for the previous couple of years, following a period of health issues.
"I managed to injure myself significantly," he stated in a recent interview. "I broke lower vertebrae in my spine and fractured about multiple ribs and fractured my wrist."
After contracting a lung infection and suffering from sepsis, he was put in an induced coma and stayed in hospital for seven months.
Nevertheless, he had been in "a great place mentally" over the warmer months, as he was developing a fresh record with Almond, titled the upcoming Danceteria, which is set for release in the coming year.
"He was concentrated and very pleased with the latest project that we actually finished only a few days ago," said 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 find comfort from the knowledge that he heard the completed album and felt that it was a masterpiece."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond described his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", adding: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our body of work.
"Thank you Dave for being an immense part of my life and for the music you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without you."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, also paid tribute, recalling Ball's "constant humor" and "steadfast support".
"Forming a duo with someone is distinct from being in a band, the bond is very tight," he added.
"That's how it was with us. We experienced so many extraordinary, incredible, memorable moments as a team. Many thanks, Dave."
Formative Years
Brought into the world into a one-parent family in the city of Chester in 1959, Ball was given up for adoption when he was 18 months old.
He was raised in the seaside town with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who altered his first name from Paul to David, together with his younger sister his sister, who was similarly welcomed.
He met Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both learning art. Fuelled by a shared love of Northern Soul, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and promptly produced an extended play.
Musical Partnership
The duo were an distinctive pairing: Ball was the reserved technician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all sparkle and makeup; but they achieved a unique creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with electronic instruments after watching Kraftwerk appear on a television science show Tomorrow's World, and started to combine dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.
Their signature song became the UK's second biggest-selling single of the early 80s, selling 21 million copies worldwide. Alongside hits by other artists, Human League and Ultravox, it helped paved the way for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The track was also featured on their full-length debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which spawned two further top five singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the record up with the separate release, Torch, which peaked at number two in the following year.
Professional Journey
Success had its upsides. "I enjoyed being able to afford my first home, having money and travelling, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball recently told with a publication.
But it also caused challenges. "Sudden riches allowed we could afford substances to relieve the boredom" of media interviews and TV performances, Ball said.
"I realize that's a common saying, but it's a truism for a valid cause, because it applies for so many musicians."
During the hedonistic lifestyle, the pair were also growing distant, but they succeeded to produce a second memorable record - the wayward, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out another LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band to focus on individual endeavors.
Almond went on to have a successful individual path, including the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who combined dance music with ambient pop over a long-lasting partnership.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell came back together in the early 2000s, producing the charting album Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following a further break, they returned in recent years, releasing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was supposed to be a farewell show at the large venue on September 30, 2018.
However, they stayed active, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.
Ball recently described the duo's new album as a homage to the New York club scene they visited while recording their initial records.
He added that his period in hospital had shaped the group's music.
"I had unusual memories when I was in and out of hospital because I was on morphine," he told a publication.
"Our latest tracks are a digital reflection of the noises in my mind from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the times we got up to in the 80s."
The last versions were completed only a short time before Ball passed away. It is due for launch in the spring of 2026.
