Dave Ball, one half of the groundbreaking 1980s synth-pop band Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Alongside vocalist Marc Almond, the pair achieved a global success with their version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in 1984, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a classic of synth-pop.
He later founded the innovative techno group The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with their 1994 single the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his rest at his residence in London on October 22, just weeks after playing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in Henley-on-Thames.
Health Struggles
At that performance, Ball performed 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 2023. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my spine and cracked about five ribs and fractured my wrist."
Following catching pneumonia and developing sepsis, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and stayed in hospital for seven months.
However, he had been in "a great place emotionally" over the summer, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication 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 truly heartbreaking as next year was completely planned to be such an uplifting year for him, and I take some solace from the knowledge that he heard the completed album and believed that it was a great piece of work."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond described his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", adding: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our legacy.
"Many thanks Dave for being an immense aspect of my life and for the songs you gave me. I wouldn't be where I am without you."
Richard Norris from The Grid, also paid tribute, remembering Ball's "constant humor" and "unwavering friendship".
"Being in a partnership with someone is different from joining a band, the connection is incredibly close," he continued.
"That was the case with us. We experienced so many extraordinary, incredible, life-affirming experiences as a team. Thank you, Dave."
Formative Years
Brought into the world into a one-parent family in the city of 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 first name from his birth name to his adopted name, alongside his sibling Susan, who was also adopted.
He met Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in the late 70s, where they were both learning art. Inspired by a mutual passion of Northern Soul, they formed Soft Cell the very year, and quickly recorded an EP.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an unusual pairing: Ball was the quiet technician, hunched over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all glitter and eye-liner; but they achieved a rare creative synergy.
Ball had developed a interest with synthesizers after watching Kraftwerk appear on a television science show Tomorrow's World, and began to combine dark electronica to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second most popular single of 1981, shifting millions of units globally. Alongside successful tracks by other artists, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it helped paved the way for the synth-pop sound of the 80s.
The song was also included on their first album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which produced two further top five hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the album up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which peaked at the second position in the following year.
Professional Journey
Success had its benefits. "I enjoyed being able to purchase my initial property, having money and travelling, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball recently shared with a music magazine.
But it also caused challenges. "Newfound wealth meant we could purchase newfound drugs to relieve the monotony" of media interviews and TV performances, Ball explained.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a good reason, because it works for so many musicians."
Amidst the hedonistic lifestyle, the pair were also growing distant, but they managed to produce a follow-up memorable record - the unconventional, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out one more album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving 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 combined acid house with melodic sounds over a long-lasting collaboration.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell came back together in the early 2000s, releasing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.
After another hiatus, they returned in 2018, 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 O2 Arena on 30 September, 2018.
However, they remained active, recording their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.
Ball lately described the band's upcoming release as a tribute to the New York club scene they visited while making their initial records.
He noted that his period in medical care 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 explained to a music magazine.
"Our latest tracks are a digital reflection of the noises in my mind from those days.
"In parallel, it's about the times we had in the 1980s."
The final mixes were finished only days before Ball died. It is scheduled for release in Spring 2026.