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The talented musician, one half of the pioneering 1980s synth-pop band Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.

Alongside singer Marc Almond, the team achieved a global success with their version of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in 1984, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a classic of synth-pop.

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

Ball died peacefully in his rest at his home in London on October 22, just weeks after playing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in the Thames-side town.

Recent Health Challenges

At that performance, Ball appeared in a mobility chair, as he had for the previous couple of years, following a spate of health issues.

"I managed to damage myself significantly," he stated in 2023. "I fractured spinal bones in my back and cracked about multiple ribs and fractured my wrist."

Following catching pneumonia and developing sepsis, he was placed in an induced coma and stayed in hospital for seven months.

However, he had been in "high spirits emotionally" over the summer, as he was developing a fresh record with Almond, titled the upcoming Danceteria, which is set for publication next year.

"He was concentrated and very pleased with the new album that we actually completed only a short time ago," stated the singer in a heartfelt message.

"It's so sad as next year was all set to be such an uplifting time for him, and I take some solace from the fact that he heard the finished record and felt that it was a great piece of work."

Tributes

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

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

Richard Norris from The Grid, shared his condolences, remembering Ball's "constant humor" and "steadfast support".

"Being in a duo with someone is different from joining a band, the connection is incredibly close," he added.

"That was the case with us. We went through so many extraordinary, extraordinary, life-affirming moments together. Many thanks, Dave."

Early Life

Brought into the world into a one-parent family in Chester in 1959, Ball was put up for adoption when he was 18 months old.

He was raised in Blackpool with his new family Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his first name from his birth name to David, alongside his sibling his sister, who was also adopted.

He met Almond at an art college in the late 70s, where they were both learning art. Inspired by a mutual passion of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the very year, and quickly produced an EP.

Musical Partnership

The duo were an distinctive combination: Ball was the reserved technician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all glitter and makeup; but they attained a unique creative synergy.

Ball had developed a interest with electronic instruments after viewing the band Kraftwerk appear on BBC program a popular series, and began to combine dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.

Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second most popular single of 1981, shifting 21 million units worldwide. Together with hits by other artists, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it contributed to cleared the way for the synth-pop sound of the 80s.

The track was also included on their first album, their initial LP, which produced two further high-charting hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.

They followed the album up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at number two in 1982.

Career Highlights

Fame had its upsides. "I enjoyed being able to purchase my initial property, having money and exploring, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball not long ago shared with a publication.

But it also presented challenges. "Sudden riches meant we could purchase newfound drugs to relieve the boredom" of media interviews and TV performances, Ball said.

"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a valid cause, because it works for so many musicians."

Amidst the party-filled existence, the pair were also growing distant, but they managed to produce a follow-up classic album - the unconventional, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.

They released one more album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the band to concentrate on other projects.

Almond proceeded to have a prosperous solo career, including the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who combined acid house with ambient pop over a enduring collaboration.

Later Work and Comebacks

Soft Cell came back together in the early 2000s, producing the charting record Cruelty Without Beauty.

Following a further hiatus, they reappeared in recent years, releasing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was supposed to be a final performance at the O2 Arena on September 30, that year.

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

Ball recently described the duo's new album as a homage to the New York club scene they visited while making their first two albums.

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 the hospital because I was on pain medication," he told a music magazine.

"Our latest tracks are a digital reflection of the noises in my mind from that time.

"In parallel, it's about the times me and Marc had in the 80s."

The last versions were finished only days before Ball passed away. It is due for launch in Spring 2026.