Dave Ball

I don't think this will be the only blog celebrating the life of Dave Ball today and marking his death (Wednesday, aged 66). Dave was a pioneering musician in many ways. He was born in Chester and grew up in Blackpool, surrounded by Northern Soul. His keyboard and arranging skills delivered in style with Soft Cell's cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love. Dave met Marc Almond while at Leeds Polytechnic and they became the archetypal 80s synth duo- attention grabbing frontman and psychotic looking synth player. Marc faced all kinds of threats from audiences and Dave would happily weigh into the crowd to deal with anyone who was going too far. Soft Cell wrote many fine singles and songs and were early adopters of the 12" mix, making great use of the extra running time. This 1982 single is a highpoint of the period and genre....

Say Hello, Wave Goodbye (12" Extended Version)

Dave's Korg synth is central to the song, a lush and rich piece of synth pop coupled with some wonderfully mournful keyboard runs, woodwind, and Marc's bittersweet vocal, 'Standing in the door of the Pink Flamingo/ Crying in the rain'.

Bedsitter is stunning too, innovative and experimental pop, written from real life and creating mini- films with the music and words. 

Bedsitter (12" Extended Version)

Soft Cell embraced confrontation, Marc's stage presence a visible provocation to 80s homophobes. The pair thrived off it. Dave loved industrial music, a fan of Throbbing Gristle and Suicide, bands who forced you to pick a side. 

After Soft Cell split Dave moved on, playing with Genesis P. Orridge. He played with Psychic TV and through these connections met Richard Norris. They made the Jack The Tab album and at the end of the 80s they became acid house duo The Grid. Richard wrote a long, heartfelt post on social media about Dave yesterday. By coincidence The Grid recently re- released their 1990 single Floatation, a summer of 1990 ambient house classic (which gained a massive Andrew Weatherall remix, the Sonic Swing mix, which added John Squire's guitar from Waterfall to the end). 

To celebrate Floatation's thirty fifth birthday The Grid commissioned some remixes. This one, the Mark Barrott Ibiza Sunrise '90 Rework does exactly what it promises, Dave and Richard's 1990 music repurposed for 2025. 

The Grid had huge success with Swamp Thing and played around the world, a second bite at the cherry for Dave Ball. He produced, played and wrote with Kylie, Gavin Friday, Erasure and remixed David Bowie. Soft Cell reunited. The Grid played again this summer. He died in his sleep on Wednesday after some periods of ill health, one of modern music's unsung heroes, a man who in his words 'lurked in the background' but who did much more than that really. 

RIP Dave Ball. 

Memories Of The Night Before

Once or twice a month when I've amassed bits and bobs in mp3 form from various blogs (most to be found int he links to the right) I burn them onto cd, mainly to soundtrack my journey to and from work for a few days. Hence my car is full of cds with titles like 'Oct 2016 comp' or '07/18'. I used to write out tracklists but that happens less soften now so sometimes I pull out a homemade various artists cd and stick it in and see what happens. Last week I was struck by how brilliant a Soft Cell song sounded- this didn't come as a surprise and it won't surprise some of you either, I'm sure most of the bloggers who read this will have posted some Soft Cell at some point, but they just caught me and slapped me round the face a bit. The song in question was the 12" mix of Say Hello, Wave Goodbye, a hit from 1982. That's been posted somewhere else recently though so I'm going with this one instead, from 1981 which is just as brilliant, just as innovative- just listen to those synths for proof- and just as evocative of a life lived in bedsitland.

Bedsitter (12" mix)

The Return Of Friday Night Is Rockabilly Night 63

Some modern rockabilly tonight, just for a change from all the older 50s stuff I've posted recently- rockabilly revivalist Imelda May has a great voice, an authentic sounding rockabilly band and is much better than you might think. This is her rip-roaring cover version of Tainted Love, originally by Gloria Jones and famously covered by Soft Cell.

Tainted Love

I've Got This Burning, Burning, Yearning

Soft Cell's 1981 hit Tainted Love has so many hooks- that beat, Marc Almond's delivery, its marriage of the new (electro-pop) and the old (Northern Soul), those handclaps, and all the sleaze that went with their image. A massive hit and a groundbreaking record that sold in millions. Those people that bought it on 12" got an added treat- an eight minute plus version with a hissing drum machine segueway and a drop-dead cover of The Supremes hit Where Did Our Love Go? to go with the Gloria Jones cover of the 7". Utter brilliance.

Tainted Love/Where Did Our Love Go?

Gloria Jones 'Tainted Love'

This 1965 northern soul stomper by Gloria Jones is known for two reasons. It was famously covered by Soft Cell (and the 12" mix of their version is segues into Where Did Our Love Go by The Supremes, and now I think of it needs posting), and Gloria Jones was driving the car that hit a tree in Barnes, London causing the death of Marc Bolan. She was badly injured herself in the crash, and wasn't told he'd died until the day of the funeral. When she got out of hospital she returned home to find T-Rex fans had looted her and Marc's flat, and she received little from his will due to being unmarried. All of which is pretty grim. So let's enjoy this life affirming slice of dancefloor action.

Tainted_Love.mp3