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The talented musician, one half of the pioneering 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.

Together with vocalist Marc Almond, the team achieved a global success with their version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a seminal work of synth-pop.

He later founded the innovative techno group The Grid, who achieved popular acclaim with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.

Ball passed away calmly in his sleep at his home in London on October 22, only a short time after playing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in Henley-on-Thames.

Recent Health Challenges

At that show, Ball appeared in a wheelchair, as he had for the previous couple of years, after a period of ill-health.

"I ended up damage myself quite a bit," he commented in 2023. "I broke spinal bones in my spine and cracked about multiple ribs and broke my arm."

After contracting pneumonia and suffering from blood poisoning, he was put in an induced coma and stayed in the hospital for seven months.

However, he had been in "high spirits mentally" over the warmer months, as he was developing a fresh record with Almond, called Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication next year.

"He was concentrated and very pleased with the latest project that we actually completed only a short time ago," said the vocalist in a tribute.

"It's truly heartbreaking as 2026 was all set to be such an positive year for him, and I find comfort from the fact that he heard the completed album and felt that it was a great piece of work."

Tributes

Almond referred to his collaborator as "an exceptionally talented creative mastermind", stating: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our legacy.

"Many thanks Dave for being an significant part of my life and for the music you gave me. I couldn't be where I am without you."

Richard Norris from The Grid, shared his condolences, recalling Ball's "constant humor" and "unwavering friendship".

"Forming a duo with someone is distinct from joining a group, the connection is very tight," he continued.

"That was the case with us. We experienced so many extraordinary, incredible, life-affirming experiences together. Many thanks, Dave."

Formative Years

Brought into the world into a single-parent household in Chester in 1959, Ball was given up for adoption when he was 18 months of age.

He was raised in Blackpool with adoptive parents his caregivers, who changed his first 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 art. Inspired by a mutual passion of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and promptly produced an EP.

Creative Collaboration

The duo were an unusual combination: Ball was the reserved technician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant showman, all glitter and eye-liner; but they achieved a unique musical alchemy.

Ball had cultivated 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.

Their signature song became the UK's second most popular single of 1981, selling millions of units globally. Alongside successful tracks by other artists, Human League and electronic acts, it helped paved the way for the electronic music style of the 1980s.

The track was also included on their full-length debut, their initial LP, which spawned two further high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.

They continued the record up with the separate release, Torch, which peaked at number two in 1982.

Career Highlights

Fame had its benefits. "I loved being able to afford my first home, having financial security and exploring, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball recently shared with a music magazine.

But it also presented problems. "Sudden riches allowed we could purchase newfound drugs to relieve the monotony" of press appearances and television shows, Ball explained.

"I realize that's a common saying, but it's a cliché for a valid cause, because it works for so many bands."

Amidst the party-filled existence, the duo 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, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band to focus on other projects.

Almond went on to have a successful solo career, featuring the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who combined acid house with ambient pop over a long-lasting partnership.

Reunions and Final Projects

Soft Cell came back together in 2001, releasing the Top 40 album Cruelty Without Beauty.

Following another break, they returned in recent years, 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 remained active, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.

Ball lately characterized the band's new album as a tribute to the New York club scene they visited while making their first two albums.

He noted that his period in medical care had shaped the band's sound.

"I experienced unusual memories when I was in and out of the hospital because I was on pain medication," he explained to a music magazine.

"The new songs are a electronic representation of the noises in my head from that time.

"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences me and Marc got up to in the 80s."

The final mixes were finished only a short time before Ball died. It is due for launch in Spring 2026.