Dave Ball, one half of the pioneering 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the pair achieved a global success with their version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in 1984, and their first record their initial full-length release is regarded as a classic of electronic music.
He subsequently founded the innovative electronic act The Grid, who achieved chart success with their 1994 single Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully in his sleep at his home in London on October 22, only a short time after performing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in Henley-on-Thames.
Health Struggles
At that show, Ball appeared in a mobility chair, as he had for the last two years, following a period of ill-health.
"I ended up injure myself significantly," he commented in a recent interview. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my spine and cracked about five ribs and fractured my arm."
Following catching pneumonia and suffering from blood poisoning, he was placed in an medically-induced sleep and remained in the hospital for half a year.
However, he had been in "high spirits mentally" during the warmer months, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, called the upcoming Danceteria, which is scheduled for release in the coming year.
"He was focused and very pleased with the latest project that we actually finished only a few days ago," stated the vocalist in a heartfelt message.
"It's so sad as 2026 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 bandmate as "a wonderfully brilliant musical genius", adding: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our legacy.
"Thank you Dave for being an significant part of my existence and for the music you created with me. I wouldn't be where I am without you."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, shared his condolences, remembering Ball's "endless laughter" and "unwavering friendship".
"Being in a partnership with someone is distinct from being in a group, the bond is very tight," he continued.
"That's how it was with us. We went through so many remarkable, incredible, life-affirming moments together. Thank you, 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 a year and a half of age.
He grew up in Blackpool with his new family his caregivers, who altered his given name from his birth name to David, together with his sibling his sister, who was also adopted.
He encountered Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both studying fine arts. Inspired by a mutual passion of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the very year, and promptly recorded an extended play.
Creative Collaboration
The pair were an unusual combination: Ball was the quiet technician, hunched over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic showman, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they achieved a rare creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with synthesizers after watching the band Kraftwerk perform on BBC science show Tomorrow's World, and started to marry moody electronic sounds to the catchy tunes Almond was composing.
Their signature song became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling song of 1981, shifting 21 million units globally. Alongside successful tracks by other artists, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it helped paved the way for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The song was also included on their full-length debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which spawned two additional top five hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the album up with the separate release, Torch, which peaked at the second position in 1982.
Career Highlights
Fame had its upsides. "I enjoyed being able to afford my initial property, having money and travelling, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball not long ago shared with a music magazine.
But it also presented challenges. "Sudden riches allowed we could purchase newfound drugs to alleviate the boredom" of media interviews and television shows, Ball said.
"I realize 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 duo were also growing distant, but they succeeded to create a second classic album - the unconventional, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out another album, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the band to focus on other projects.
Almond went on to have a prosperous solo career, including the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who combined acid house 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 another hiatus, they reappeared in 2018, releasing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was supposed to be a farewell show at the O2 Arena on 30 September, that year.
Yet, they stayed active, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.
Ball recently described the duo's upcoming release as a tribute to the NYC nightlife they visited while recording their initial records.
He noted that his period in hospital had influenced the band's sound.
"I had strange recollections when I was coming and going of hospital because I was on morphine," he told a publication.
"Our latest tracks are a electronic representation of the sounds in my mind from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences me and Marc got up to in the 80s."
The final mixes were finished only days before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for release in the spring of 2026.
