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

Alongside singer Marc Almond, the pair scored a worldwide hit with their cover 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 synth-pop.

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

Ball passed away calmly in his sleep at his home in London on October 22, only a short time after performing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in Henley-on-Thames.

Health Struggles

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

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

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

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

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

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

Tributes

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 body of work.

"Many thanks Dave for being an significant part of my existence and for the music you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without your influence."

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

"Forming a duo with someone is distinct from joining a band, the connection is very tight," he continued.

"That's how it was with us. We went through so many remarkable, incredible, life-affirming moments together. Many thanks, Dave."

Formative Years

Brought into the world into a one-parent family in the city of Chester in the late 50s, Ball was given up for adoption when he was a year and a half old.

He was raised in Blackpool with his new family Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his given name from his birth name to David, alongside his sibling Susan, who was similarly welcomed.

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

Creative Collaboration

The pair were an unusual combination: Ball was the quiet musician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a charismatic showman, all glitter and makeup; but they attained a unique musical alchemy.

Ball had developed a interest with electronic instruments after viewing the band Kraftwerk perform on a television program a popular series, and started to combine moody electronic sounds to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.

Tainted Love became the UK's second most popular song of the early 80s, selling millions of units globally. Together with successful tracks by Gary Numan, Human League and Ultravox, it helped cleared the path for the electronic music style of the 1980s.

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

They followed the album up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which reached at the second position in the following year.

Professional Journey

Fame had its benefits. "I enjoyed being able to afford my initial property, having money and travelling, which makes me sound like a Miss World," Ball recently shared with a music magazine.

But it also presented challenges. "Sudden riches allowed we could purchase newfound drugs to relieve the monotony" of media interviews and television shows, Ball explained.

"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 growing distant, but they managed to produce a second classic album - the unconventional, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.

They released another album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group to focus on individual endeavors.

Almond went on to have a prosperous solo career, featuring the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who mixed acid house with ambient pop over a long-lasting partnership.

Later Work and Comebacks

Soft Cell reunited in 2001, releasing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.

After a further hiatus, they returned in 2018, releasing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was intended to be a farewell show at the O2 Arena on 30 September, that year.

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

Ball recently characterized the band's new album as a homage to the New York club scene they visited while recording their first two albums.

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

"I experienced unusual memories when I was coming and going of hospital because I was on pain medication," he explained to a music magazine.

"The new songs are a digital reflection of the sounds in my head from that time.

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

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