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Dave Ball, a key member of the innovative 1980s synth-pop duo Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.

Together with vocalist Marc Almond, the duo scored a worldwide hit with their version of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in 1984, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a seminal work of electronic music.

He later founded the innovative electronic act The Grid, who achieved popular acclaim with their 1994 single 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 music event in Henley-on-Thames.

Health Struggles

During that show, Ball appeared in a wheelchair, as he had for the last two years, after a period of health issues.

"I ended up damage myself quite a bit," he stated in 2023. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my spine and fractured about five ribs and broke my wrist."

Following contracting a lung infection and developing sepsis, he was put in an induced coma and stayed in the hospital for seven months.

Nevertheless, he had been in "a great place emotionally" over the warmer months, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, called Danceteria, which is scheduled for release in the coming year.

"He was focused and so happy with the latest project that we literally completed only a short time ago," stated the singer in a tribute.

"It's truly heartbreaking as 2026 was all set 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."

Tributes

Almond described his bandmate as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", adding: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our body of work.

"Many thanks Dave for being an immense part of my life and for the songs you created with me. I wouldn't be where I am without your influence."

Richard Norris from The Grid, also paid tribute, recalling Ball's "endless laughter" and "steadfast support".

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

"That's how it was with us. We experienced so many remarkable, extraordinary, life-affirming moments as a team. Many thanks, Dave."

Early Life

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

He was raised in Blackpool with adoptive parents his caregivers, who changed his given name from his birth name to his adopted name, together with his sibling Susan, who was also adopted.

He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both learning fine arts. Fuelled by a shared love of Northern Soul, they established Soft Cell the same year, and quickly produced an EP.

Musical Partnership

The pair were an distinctive pairing: Ball was the reserved musician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all glitter and eye-liner; but they attained a unique musical alchemy.

Ball had cultivated a interest with synthesizers after watching the band Kraftwerk perform on a television program Tomorrow's World, and started to combine moody electronic sounds to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.

Tainted Love became the UK's second most popular single of 1981, shifting 21 million units worldwide. Alongside hits by other artists, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it helped paved the way for the synth-pop sound of the 80s.

The track was also featured 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 record up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at number two in the following year.

Professional Journey

Success had its benefits. "I enjoyed being able to purchase my initial property, 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 meant we could purchase newfound drugs to alleviate the boredom" of press appearances and television shows, Ball explained.

"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a good reason, because it works for so many musicians."

During the hedonistic lifestyle, the pair were also drifting apart, but they succeeded to create a second classic album - the unconventional, tense 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 successful individual path, featuring the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who mixed dance music with ambient pop over a enduring partnership.

Later Work and Comebacks

Soft Cell came back together in the early 2000s, producing the Top 40 album Cruelty Without Beauty.

Following a further break, they returned in 2018, issuing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was supposed to be a final performance at the O2 Arena on September 30, 2018.

Yet, they stayed together, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.

Ball lately described the band's upcoming release as a homage to the NYC nightlife they frequented while recording their initial records.

He added that his period in medical care had shaped the group's music.

"I experienced unusual memories when I was in and out of hospital because I was on morphine," he told a publication.

"The new songs are a digital reflection of the sounds in my head from that time.

"Simultaneously, it's about the times me and Marc had in the 1980s."

The final mixes were finished only a short time before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for release in the spring of 2026.