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

Together with vocalist Marc Almond, the team scored a worldwide hit with their cover of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in 1984, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a classic of synth-pop.

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

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

Recent Health Challenges

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

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

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

Nevertheless, he had been in "high spirits mentally" during the warmer months, as he was developing a new album with Almond, called Danceteria, which is set for publication in the coming year.

"He was focused and so happy with the latest project that we literally completed only a short time ago," stated the singer in a tribute.

"It's truly heartbreaking 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."

Tributes

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

"Many thanks Dave for being an immense aspect of my existence and for the songs you created with me. I wouldn't be where I am without your influence."

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

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

"That was the case with us. We went through so many extraordinary, extraordinary, memorable moments as a team. Many thanks, Dave."

Formative Years

Brought into the world into a single-parent household in Chester in 1959, Ball was given up for adoption when he was a year and a half of age.

He grew up in Blackpool with his new family Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his first name from Paul to David, together with his sibling Susan, who was also adopted.

He encountered 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 very year, and promptly recorded an EP.

Creative Collaboration

The pair were an unusual combination: Ball was the reserved technician, hunched over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all sparkle and makeup; but they attained a rare creative synergy.

Ball had cultivated a fascination with synthesizers after viewing the band Kraftwerk appear on BBC science show a popular series, and started to marry moody electronic sounds to the catchy tunes Almond was composing.

Tainted Love became the UK's second most popular song of the early 80s, shifting 21 million units worldwide. Alongside successful tracks by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it contributed to cleared the way for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.

The song was also included on their full-length debut, their initial LP, which spawned two further high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.

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

Professional Journey

Success had its upsides. "I enjoyed being able to afford my initial property, having financial security and travelling, which might seem like a beauty queen," Ball not long ago told with a publication.

But it also presented problems. "Newfound wealth meant we could afford substances to relieve the boredom" of press appearances and TV performances, Ball explained.

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

Amidst the party-filled existence, the duo were also drifting apart, but they succeeded to create a follow-up memorable record - the unconventional, tense and aptly-titled 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 went on to have a successful solo career, featuring the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who combined dance music with ambient pop over a enduring partnership.

Later Work and Comebacks

Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, producing the Top 40 album Cruelty Without Beauty.

After a further hiatus, they reappeared in recent years, issuing the original singles 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.

However, they remained active, recording their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic restrictions.

Ball lately characterized the band's upcoming release as a tribute to the New York club scene they frequented while recording their first two albums.

He noted that his time in hospital had influenced the group's music.

"I had strange recollections when I was coming and going of hospital because I was on morphine," he explained to a music magazine.

"Our latest tracks are a electronic representation of the sounds in my mind 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 died. It is scheduled for launch in the spring of 2026.