Dave Ball, one half of the innovative 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Alongside vocalist Marc Almond, the duo 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 regarded as a classic of electronic music.
He subsequently founded the innovative techno group The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with their 1994 single Swamp Thing.
Ball died calmly in his sleep at his home in London on October 22, only a short time after performing 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 wheelchair, as he had for the previous couple of years, after a spate of ill-health.
"I managed to injure myself significantly," he stated in a recent interview. "I broke spinal bones in my spine and cracked about multiple ribs and fractured my arm."
After contracting pneumonia and suffering from sepsis, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and stayed in the hospital for half a year.
However, he had been in "high spirits mentally" over the summer, as he was developing a new album with Almond, called the upcoming Danceteria, which is set for release next year.
"He was focused and so happy with the new album that we literally finished only a few days ago," stated the vocalist in a tribute.
"It's so sad as 2026 was all set to be such an positive year for him, and I find comfort from the knowledge that he heard the finished record and felt that it was a masterpiece."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond referred to 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.
"Many thanks Dave for being an significant 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, shared his condolences, remembering Ball's "constant humor" and "steadfast support".
"Being in a partnership with someone is different from joining a band, the connection is very tight," he added.
"That's how it was with us. We went through so many extraordinary, incredible, life-affirming experiences as a team. Many thanks, Dave."
Formative Years
Born into a one-parent family in Chester in the late 50s, Ball was given up for adoption when he was 18 months of age.
He grew up in the seaside town with adoptive parents his caregivers, who changed his given name from Paul to David, alongside his younger sister his sister, who was similarly welcomed.
He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both learning fine arts. Fuelled by a mutual passion of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the very year, and quickly recorded an EP.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an distinctive combination: Ball was the quiet technician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all glitter and makeup; but they attained a rare musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with electronic instruments after watching the band Kraftwerk appear on a television science show Tomorrow's World, and started to marry moody electronic sounds to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling song of 1981, shifting 21 million units globally. Together with successful tracks by other artists, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it helped paved the path for the synth-pop sound of the 80s.
The track was also included on their full-length debut, their initial LP, which produced two further high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the album up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at the second position in the following year.
Professional Journey
Fame had its benefits. "I loved being able to afford my first home, having financial security and travelling, which might seem like a beauty queen," Ball not long ago told with a publication.
But it also presented problems. "Newfound wealth meant we could purchase substances to relieve the boredom" of press appearances and TV performances, Ball said.
"I know that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a valid cause, because it works for so many musicians."
During the hedonistic lifestyle, the pair were also drifting apart, but they managed to create a second memorable record - the wayward, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released another LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the group 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 created The Grid, who mixed dance music with ambient pop over a enduring collaboration.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, releasing the charting record Cruelty Without Beauty.
After another hiatus, they reappeared in recent years, releasing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was intended to be a farewell show at the large venue on September 30, that year.
However, they remained together, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.
Ball lately described the duo's new album as a homage to the NYC nightlife they frequented while recording their initial records.
He added that his time in hospital had shaped the band's sound.
"I had unusual memories when I was in and out of the hospital because I was on morphine," he explained to a publication.
"The new songs are a digital reflection of the noises in my mind from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the times me and Marc got up to in the 80s."
The last versions were completed only a short time before Ball passed away. It is due for release in the spring of 2026.
