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

Alongside singer Marc Almond, the duo scored a global success with their version of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a classic of electronic music.

He subsequently founded the pioneering electronic act The Grid, who secured chart success with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.

Ball died calmly in his rest at his home in London on Wednesday 22 October, only a short time after performing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in Henley-on-Thames.

Recent Health Challenges

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

"I ended up damage myself significantly," he stated in a recent interview. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my back and cracked about multiple ribs and broke my wrist."

Following catching a lung infection and suffering from blood poisoning, he was placed in an medically-induced sleep and remained in the hospital for seven months.

Nevertheless, he had been in "a great place mentally" 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 concentrated and so happy with the latest project that we literally finished only a short time ago," said the vocalist in a tribute.

"It's so sad as 2026 was all set to be such an positive time for him, and I find comfort from the fact that he listened to the finished record and felt that it was a great piece of work."

Heartfelt Messages

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

"Thank you Dave for being an immense aspect of my existence and for the music you created with me. I wouldn't be where I am without you."

His Grid bandmate from The Grid, also paid tribute, recalling Ball's "constant humor" and "steadfast support".

"Being in a partnership with someone is different from joining a group, the bond is very tight," he added.

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

Early Life

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

He grew up in Blackpool with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his first name from his birth name to David, alongside his sibling his sister, who was similarly welcomed.

He met Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in the late 70s, where they were both studying fine arts. Inspired by a mutual passion of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and promptly produced an EP.

Musical Partnership

The pair were an unusual combination: Ball was the quiet musician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they achieved a unique creative synergy.

Ball had cultivated a fascination with electronic instruments after viewing Kraftwerk perform on a television program Tomorrow's World, and started to marry moody electronic sounds to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.

Their signature song became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling single of 1981, selling millions of units globally. Alongside successful tracks by other artists, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it helped cleared the way for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.

The track was also featured on their full-length debut, their initial LP, which spawned two additional top five singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.

They continued the record up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which peaked at number two in the following year.

Career Highlights

Fame had its upsides. "I loved being able to purchase my initial property, having financial security and exploring, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball recently told with a publication.

But it also caused challenges. "Newfound wealth allowed we could afford substances to alleviate the monotony" of media interviews and television shows, Ball explained.

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

During the hedonistic lifestyle, the duo were also growing distant, but they managed to produce a second classic album - the wayward, edgy and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.

They released one more LP, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the band to concentrate on individual endeavors.

Almond went on to have a successful individual path, featuring the top 10 hit 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 reunited in 2001, producing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.

After a further hiatus, they returned in 2018, releasing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was supposed to be a farewell show at the large venue on 30 September, 2018.

Yet, they remained together, recording their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.

Ball lately described the duo's new album as a homage to the NYC nightlife they frequented while making their first two albums.

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

"I experienced strange recollections when I was coming and going of hospital because I was on morphine," he told a publication.

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

"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences me and Marc got up to in the 1980s."

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