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

Together with singer Marc Almond, the team achieved a worldwide hit with their cover of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in 1984, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a seminal work of synth-pop.

He later formed the innovative electronic act The Grid, who achieved popular acclaim with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.

Ball passed away peacefully in his rest at his home in London on October 22, just weeks after playing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in Henley-on-Thames.

Health Struggles

At that performance, Ball performed in a wheelchair, as he had for the last two years, following a spate of health issues.

"I managed to damage myself quite a bit," he commented in a recent interview. "I broke lower vertebrae in my spine and cracked about multiple ribs and broke my arm."

Following contracting a lung infection and suffering from blood poisoning, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and remained in hospital for half a year.

However, he had been in "a great place emotionally" during the summer, as he worked on a new album with Almond, titled the upcoming Danceteria, which is set for release next year.

"He was focused and so happy with the new album that we literally finished only a short time ago," stated the singer in a tribute.

"It's truly heartbreaking as 2026 was completely planned to be such an positive year for him, and I find comfort from the knowledge that he heard the finished record and believed that it was a great piece of work."

Tributes

Almond referred to his bandmate as "an exceptionally talented 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 significant part of my existence and for the music you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without you."

His Grid bandmate from The Grid, shared his condolences, recalling Ball's "endless laughter" and "steadfast support".

"Forming a partnership 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, incredible, memorable moments as a team. Many thanks, Dave."

Early Life

Brought into the world into a one-parent family in the city of Chester in the late 50s, Ball was given up for adoption when he was 18 months of age.

He was raised 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 an art college in 1977, where they were both studying fine arts. Inspired by a shared love of Northern Soul, they established Soft Cell the same year, and quickly recorded an EP.

Musical Partnership

The pair were an distinctive pairing: Ball was the reserved musician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a charismatic showman, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they achieved a unique musical alchemy.

Ball had developed a interest with synthesizers after viewing the band Kraftwerk perform on BBC program Tomorrow's World, and started to marry moody electronic sounds to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.

Tainted Love became the UK's second most popular single of the early 80s, shifting 21 million units worldwide. Together with hits by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it helped paved the path for the electronic music style of the 1980s.

The song was also included on their full-length debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which produced two additional high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.

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

Professional Journey

Success had its upsides. "I loved being able to purchase my initial property, having money and travelling, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball not long ago 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 TV performances, Ball explained.

"I know that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a good reason, because it works for so many bands."

Amidst the hedonistic lifestyle, the duo were also growing distant, but they succeeded to create a second 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 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 formed The Grid, who mixed acid house with ambient pop over a long-lasting collaboration.

Later Work and Comebacks

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

After another hiatus, they reappeared in recent years, issuing 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 September 30, that year.

However, they remained active, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.

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

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

"I experienced unusual memories when I was coming and going of the hospital because I was on morphine," he explained to a music magazine.

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

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

The last versions were finished only days before Ball died. It is due for launch in the spring of 2026.