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The talented musician, one half 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 worldwide hit with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in 1984, and their debut album their initial full-length release is regarded as a seminal work of electronic music.

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

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

Recent Health Challenges

During that show, Ball appeared in a wheelchair, as he had for the last two years, after a spate of ill-health.

"I managed to damage myself quite a bit," he commented in a recent interview. "I fractured spinal bones in my back and fractured about five ribs and broke my arm."

After contracting a lung infection and developing blood poisoning, he was put in an induced coma and remained in the hospital for half a year.

Nevertheless, he had been in "high spirits mentally" over the warmer months, as he was developing a new album with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is scheduled for release next year.

"He was focused and very pleased with the latest project that we literally finished only a short time ago," stated the singer in a tribute.

"It's so sad as 2026 was all set to be such an uplifting time for him, and I take some solace from the fact that he listened to the finished record and felt that it was a great piece of work."

Heartfelt Messages

Almond described his collaborator as "an exceptionally talented musical genius", stating: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our body of work.

"Thank you Dave for being an significant aspect of my existence and for the songs 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".

"Being in a duo with someone is different from being in a group, the connection is incredibly close," he added.

"That's how it was with us. We went through so many extraordinary, extraordinary, life-affirming moments as a team. Thank you, Dave."

Early Life

Brought into the world into a single-parent household in the city of Chester in 1959, Ball was put up for adoption when he was 18 months old.

He grew up in the seaside town with his new family his caregivers, who altered his first name from his birth name to David, alongside his sibling his sister, who was also adopted.

He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in the late 70s, where they were both learning fine arts. Fuelled by a mutual passion of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the very year, and promptly recorded an EP.

Musical Partnership

The pair were an distinctive combination: Ball was the quiet technician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they achieved a unique musical alchemy.

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

Their signature song became the UK's second biggest-selling single of the early 80s, selling 21 million units globally. Alongside successful tracks by other artists, Human League and Ultravox, it helped paved the path for the electronic music style of the 80s.

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

They followed the record up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which peaked at number two in 1982.

Career Highlights

Fame had its upsides. "I loved being able to afford my initial property, having money and travelling, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball not long ago told with a publication.

But it also caused challenges. "Newfound wealth meant we could purchase newfound drugs 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 good reason, because it works for so many musicians."

Amidst the party-filled existence, the pair were also growing distant, but they managed to produce a second classic album - the unconventional, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.

They put out one more LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band to focus on individual endeavors.

Almond went on to have a prosperous individual path, including 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 the early 2000s, producing the charting album Cruelty Without Beauty.

After a further break, they returned in 2018, issuing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was intended to be a final performance at the O2 Arena on 30 September, that year.

Yet, they stayed together, recording their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.

Ball lately described the duo's upcoming release as a homage to the NYC nightlife they visited while recording their initial records.

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

"I experienced strange recollections when I was coming and going of the hospital because I was on pain medication," he explained to a publication.

"Our latest tracks are a digital reflection of the noises in my mind from those days.

"Simultaneously, it's about the times me and Marc had in the 80s."

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