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The talented musician, a key member of the pioneering 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.

Together with vocalist Marc Almond, the duo scored a global success with their version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in 1984, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a classic of synth-pop.

He subsequently formed the pioneering techno group The Grid, who achieved chart success with 1994's Swamp Thing.

Ball passed away peacefully in his sleep at his home in London on Wednesday 22 October, just weeks after performing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in the Thames-side town.

Recent Health Challenges

During that show, Ball performed in a wheelchair, as he had for the previous couple of years, following a period of health issues.

"I ended up damage myself quite a bit," he commented in 2023. "I broke lower vertebrae in my back and cracked about multiple ribs and fractured my arm."

After catching a lung infection and developing sepsis, he was placed in an induced coma and remained in hospital for seven months.

However, he had been in "high spirits emotionally" during the summer, as he was developing a new album with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication in the coming year.

"He was focused and very pleased with the latest project that we literally completed only a few days ago," stated the singer in a tribute.

"It's so sad as 2026 was all set to be such an positive time for him, and I take some solace from the knowledge that he heard the finished record and felt that it was a masterpiece."

Heartfelt Messages

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

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

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

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

"That was the case with us. We experienced so many remarkable, incredible, memorable moments as a team. Many thanks, Dave."

Early Life

Born into a single-parent household in the city of Chester in the late 50s, Ball was given up for adoption when he was a year and a half of age.

He grew up in Blackpool with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who altered his first name from Paul to his adopted name, together with his sibling his sister, who was also adopted.

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

Creative Collaboration

The duo were an distinctive combination: Ball was the reserved technician, hunched over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic showman, all glitter and makeup; but they attained a rare musical alchemy.

Ball had cultivated a fascination with electronic instruments after watching Kraftwerk appear on a television science show Tomorrow's World, and started to marry dark electronica to the catchy tunes Almond was composing.

Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second most popular single of 1981, selling 21 million units globally. Together with successful tracks by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it helped paved the way for the synth-pop sound of the 80s.

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

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

Career Highlights

Success had its benefits. "I loved being able to afford my first home, having financial security and exploring, which makes me sound like a Miss World," Ball not long ago shared with a publication.

But it also presented problems. "Newfound wealth allowed we could purchase newfound drugs to alleviate the boredom" of press appearances 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."

During the party-filled existence, the pair were also growing distant, but they succeeded to produce a follow-up memorable record - the unconventional, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.

They put out another album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the band to focus on other projects.

Almond went on 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 collaboration.

Later Work and Comebacks

Soft Cell reunited in 2001, releasing the charting album Cruelty Without Beauty.

Following a further break, they reappeared in 2018, releasing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was intended to be a final performance at the large venue on September 30, 2018.

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

Ball lately described the duo's upcoming release as a tribute to the NYC nightlife they frequented while making their initial records.

He noted that his period in hospital had influenced the band's sound.

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

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

"In parallel, it's about the times we had in the 80s."

The last versions were finished only a short time before Ball died. It is due for release in the spring of 2026.