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

Together with singer Marc Almond, the team scored a worldwide hit with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in 1984, and their first record their initial full-length release is regarded as a classic of synth-pop.

He later founded the innovative techno group The Grid, who achieved popular acclaim with 1994's Swamp Thing.

Ball died calmly in his sleep at his home in London on October 22, just weeks after playing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in Henley-on-Thames.

Health Struggles

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

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

Following catching pneumonia and suffering from blood poisoning, he was placed in an induced coma and stayed in hospital for half a year.

Nevertheless, he had been in "high spirits mentally" during the summer, as he worked on a new album with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is scheduled for release in the coming year.

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

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

Heartfelt Messages

Almond described his bandmate as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", adding: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our legacy.

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

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

"Being in a duo with someone is distinct from joining a band, the bond is very tight," he continued.

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

Early Life

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

He was raised in Blackpool with his new family Donald and Brenda Ball, who altered his given name from Paul to David, alongside his sibling his sister, who was also adopted.

He met Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both learning art. Fuelled by a shared love of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the very year, and promptly recorded an EP.

Musical Partnership

The duo were an distinctive pairing: Ball was the reserved technician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic showman, all glitter and makeup; but they attained a rare creative synergy.

Ball had developed a fascination with electronic instruments after viewing Kraftwerk appear on a television science show Tomorrow's World, and began to combine moody electronic sounds to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.

Their signature song became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling single of 1981, selling 21 million copies worldwide. Alongside hits by Gary Numan, Human League and electronic acts, it helped cleared the way for the electronic music style of the 1980s.

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

They followed the album up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which peaked at the second position in 1982.

Career Highlights

Success had its upsides. "I enjoyed being able to purchase my initial property, having financial security and exploring, which might seem like a beauty queen," Ball recently shared with a publication.

But it also caused challenges. "Newfound wealth allowed we could afford substances to alleviate the monotony" of press appearances and television shows, Ball explained.

"I realize that's a common saying, but it's a truism for a valid cause, because it applies for so many musicians."

Amidst the party-filled existence, the duo were also growing distant, but they succeeded to create a second classic album - the wayward, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.

They released another LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the group to focus on individual endeavors.

Almond went on to have a successful individual path, featuring the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who mixed dance music with melodic sounds over a enduring collaboration.

Reunions and Final Projects

Soft Cell came back together in 2001, producing the Top 40 album Cruelty Without Beauty.

After a further break, they returned in 2018, releasing 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 September 30, that year.

Yet, they stayed together, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic restrictions.

Ball recently characterized the duo's new album as a homage to the NYC nightlife they frequented while making their initial records.

He added that his time 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 morphine," he told a publication.

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

"In parallel, it's about the experiences we got up to in the 80s."

The last versions were finished only a short time before Ball died. It is due for launch in the spring of 2026.