Dave Ball, a key member of the groundbreaking 1980s synth-pop duo Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the pair scored a global success with their version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in 1984, and their first record their initial full-length release is considered a classic of electronic music.
He later founded the innovative techno group The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball died peacefully in his sleep at his home in London on Wednesday 22 October, just weeks after playing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in the Thames-side town.
Health Struggles
At that performance, Ball performed in a wheelchair, as he had for the last two years, following a spate of health issues.
"I ended up damage myself quite a bit," he stated in a recent interview. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my back and fractured about five ribs and fractured my arm."
Following catching a lung infection and developing blood poisoning, he was placed in an medically-induced sleep and remained in the hospital for half a year.
Nevertheless, he had been in "high spirits emotionally" over the warmer months, as he was developing a fresh record with Almond, called Danceteria, which is set for release next year.
"He was focused and very pleased with the latest project that we actually completed only a few days ago," said the singer in a tribute.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was completely planned to be such an positive year for him, and I take some solace from the knowledge that he listened to the completed album and believed that it was a great piece of work."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond described his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant musical genius", adding: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our body of work.
"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 your influence."
Richard Norris from The Grid, shared his condolences, recalling Ball's "constant humor" and "steadfast support".
"Being in a partnership with someone is different from joining a band, the bond is very tight," he added.
"That was the case with us. We experienced so many extraordinary, extraordinary, life-affirming moments together. Many thanks, Dave."
Formative Years
Brought into the world into a single-parent household in the city of Chester in 1959, Ball was put 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 Paul to his adopted name, alongside his younger sister Susan, who was also adopted.
He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in the late 70s, where they were both learning art. Inspired by a shared love of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the same year, and promptly produced an EP.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an unusual combination: Ball was the reserved technician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all glitter and makeup; but they achieved a rare musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with synthesizers after watching the band Kraftwerk perform on BBC science show Tomorrow's World, and began to marry dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second most popular single of 1981, shifting millions of copies worldwide. Together with successful tracks by other artists, Human League and Ultravox, it helped cleared the way for the synth-pop sound of the 80s.
The song was also featured on their full-length debut, their initial LP, which produced two further high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the album up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at the second position in 1982.
Professional Journey
Fame had its benefits. "I enjoyed being able to purchase my first home, having money and exploring, which might seem like a beauty queen," Ball not long ago told with a publication.
But it also caused challenges. "Newfound wealth meant we could purchase substances to relieve the boredom" of media interviews and TV performances, Ball said.
"I know that's a common saying, but it's a cliché for a good reason, because it applies for so many musicians."
Amidst the party-filled existence, the duo were also growing distant, but they succeeded to create a second memorable record - the wayward, edgy and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released another album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group to focus on other projects.
Almond proceeded to have a prosperous individual path, including the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who combined dance music with ambient pop over a enduring collaboration.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, producing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following another break, they returned in recent years, issuing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was intended to be a final performance at the O2 Arena on September 30, that year.
Yet, they stayed together, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.
Ball lately characterized the duo's new album as a tribute to the New York club scene they frequented while recording their first two albums.
He added that his time in hospital had shaped the band's sound.
"I experienced strange recollections when I was coming and going of the hospital because I was on morphine," he explained to a music magazine.
"The new songs are a digital reflection of the sounds in my head from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences me and Marc got up to in the 80s."
The last versions were finished only a short time before Ball died. It is scheduled for release in the spring of 2026.
