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

Together with singer Marc Almond, the duo achieved a worldwide hit 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 seminal work of electronic music.

He subsequently founded the innovative electronic act The Grid, who achieved chart success with 1994's Swamp Thing.

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

Health Struggles

During that performance, Ball appeared in a mobility chair, as he had for the last two years, following a spate of health issues.

"I ended up injure myself quite a bit," he stated in 2023. "I fractured spinal bones in my spine and cracked about five ribs and fractured my arm."

Following catching pneumonia and suffering from sepsis, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and stayed in the hospital for seven months.

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

"He was focused and so happy with the new album that we actually finished only a short time ago," said the vocalist in a heartfelt message.

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

Tributes

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

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

Richard Norris from The Grid, also paid tribute, remembering Ball's "constant humor" and "unwavering friendship".

"Forming a duo with someone is distinct from being in a band, the connection is very tight," he added.

"That was the case with us. We experienced so many extraordinary, incredible, life-affirming moments as a team. Many thanks, Dave."

Formative Years

Brought into the world into a one-parent family in the city of Chester in 1959, Ball was put up for adoption when he was a year and a half old.

He was raised in Blackpool with adoptive parents his caregivers, who altered his given name from Paul to David, together with his younger sister his sister, who was also adopted.

He met Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both learning fine arts. Inspired by a shared love of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and quickly produced an EP.

Creative Collaboration

The duo were an unusual pairing: Ball was the reserved musician, hunched over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all glitter and makeup; but they achieved a unique creative synergy.

Ball had developed a fascination with synthesizers after watching the band Kraftwerk appear on BBC science show a popular series, and started to marry dark electronica to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.

Tainted Love became the UK's second biggest-selling song of 1981, shifting millions of units worldwide. Alongside hits by other artists, Human League and electronic acts, it contributed to paved the path for the synth-pop sound 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 record up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at the second position in the following year.

Career Highlights

Success had its upsides. "I enjoyed being able to purchase my first home, having money and travelling, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball recently shared with a music magazine.

But it also caused challenges. "Newfound wealth meant we could afford substances to relieve the monotony" of press appearances and TV performances, Ball said.

"I know that's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a valid cause, because it applies 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 wayward, edgy and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.

They put out another album, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the band to concentrate on other projects.

Almond went on to have a successful individual path, including the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who mixed acid house with melodic sounds over a enduring partnership.

Later Work and Comebacks

Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, producing the charting record Cruelty Without Beauty.

Following a further break, 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 O2 Arena on September 30, 2018.

Yet, they remained together, recording their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.

Ball recently characterized the duo's upcoming release as a tribute to the New York club scene they visited while recording their first two albums.

He added that his time in medical care had influenced the band's sound.

"I experienced strange recollections when I was coming and going of hospital because I was on pain medication," he told a music magazine.

"The new songs are a digital reflection of the noises 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 a short time before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for release in Spring 2026.