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

Together with singer Marc Almond, the duo achieved a worldwide hit with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record their initial full-length release is regarded as a seminal work of electronic music.

He later formed the pioneering techno group The Grid, who achieved popular acclaim with their 1994 single Swamp Thing.

Ball passed away calmly in his sleep at his residence in London on October 22, just weeks after performing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in Henley-on-Thames.

Recent Health Challenges

During that show, Ball performed in a mobility chair, as he had for the last two years, after a period of ill-health.

"I ended up injure myself significantly," he commented in 2023. "I fractured spinal bones in my back and fractured about five ribs and fractured my wrist."

After contracting a lung infection and suffering from sepsis, he was placed in an induced coma and remained in the hospital for seven months.

Nevertheless, he had been in "high spirits emotionally" over the warmer months, as he was developing a fresh record with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is scheduled for release in the coming year.

"He was concentrated and very pleased with the latest project that we actually completed only a short time ago," said the vocalist in a heartfelt message.

"It's truly heartbreaking as 2026 was all set to be such an positive year for him, and I find comfort from the fact that he listened to the completed album and felt that it was a masterpiece."

Tributes

Almond described his collaborator as "an exceptionally talented musical genius", stating: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our legacy.

"Thank you Dave for being an immense aspect of my life and for the music you created with me. I wouldn'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 partnership with someone is distinct from being in a band, the connection is incredibly close," he added.

"That was the case with us. We experienced so many extraordinary, incredible, memorable moments as a team. Thank you, Dave."

Early Life

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

He was raised in the seaside town with his new family Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his first name from Paul to his adopted name, together with his younger sister his sister, who was also adopted.

He met Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both studying fine arts. Inspired by a shared love of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and promptly recorded an EP.

Musical Partnership

The pair were an distinctive combination: Ball was the quiet musician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all sparkle and makeup; but they attained a unique creative synergy.

Ball had developed a fascination with synthesizers after watching Kraftwerk perform on a television program Tomorrow's World, and began to marry moody electronic sounds to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.

Their signature song became the UK's second most popular single of 1981, selling millions of copies worldwide. Alongside hits by other artists, Human League and electronic acts, it contributed to cleared the way for the electronic music style of the 1980s.

The song was also featured on their full-length debut, their initial LP, which produced two further high-charting hits: 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

Fame had its benefits. "I enjoyed being able to afford my initial property, having financial security and travelling, which might seem like a beauty queen," Ball recently told with a publication.

But it also presented problems. "Sudden riches allowed we could afford newfound drugs to relieve the monotony" of press appearances and TV performances, Ball said.

"I know that's a common saying, but it's a cliché for a good reason, because it works for so many musicians."

During the party-filled existence, the duo were also drifting apart, but they succeeded to create a follow-up memorable record - the unconventional, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.

They released another LP, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band to focus on other projects.

Almond went on 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.

Reunions and Final Projects

Soft Cell reunited in 2001, producing the charting record Cruelty Without Beauty.

After a further break, they returned in 2018, issuing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was intended to be a farewell show at the large venue on 30 September, that year.

Yet, they stayed together, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.

Ball lately described the band's new album as a tribute to the New York club scene they visited while making their initial records.

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 pain medication," he explained to a publication.

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

"In parallel, it's about the times we had in the 1980s."

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