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

Together with singer Marc Almond, the team achieved a worldwide hit with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in 1984, and their first record their initial full-length release is considered a classic of electronic music.

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

Ball passed away peacefully in his sleep at his home in London on Wednesday 22 October, only a short time after performing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in the Thames-side town.

Recent Health Challenges

During that performance, Ball appeared in a mobility chair, as he had for the previous couple of years, after a period of health issues.

"I ended up damage myself significantly," he stated in 2023. "I broke lower vertebrae in my spine and fractured about multiple ribs and broke my arm."

After contracting pneumonia and developing sepsis, he was put in an induced coma and remained in hospital for seven months.

However, 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 next year.

"He was concentrated and so happy with the latest project that we literally finished only a few days ago," said the vocalist in a heartfelt message.

"It's truly heartbreaking as 2026 was completely planned to be such an uplifting time 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 referred to his bandmate as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", adding: "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 music you created with me. I wouldn't be where I am without you."

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

"Being in a partnership with someone is different 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 experiences as a team. Many thanks, Dave."

Early Life

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

He grew up in the seaside town with his new family Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his first name from Paul to David, alongside his younger sister Susan, who was similarly welcomed.

He met Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both studying fine arts. Fuelled by a mutual passion of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the very year, and promptly produced an extended play.

Musical Partnership

The pair were an distinctive pairing: Ball was the quiet musician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all sparkle and makeup; but they achieved a rare creative synergy.

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

Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling song of 1981, shifting 21 million copies globally. Together with successful tracks by Gary Numan, Human League and Ultravox, it helped paved the path for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.

The track was also featured on their first album, their initial LP, which produced two further high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.

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

Career Highlights

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

But it also caused problems. "Sudden riches meant we could afford substances to alleviate the monotony" of press appearances and TV performances, Ball said.

"I know that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a good reason, because it applies for so many bands."

Amidst the party-filled existence, the duo were also drifting apart, but they succeeded to create 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 proceeded to have a prosperous solo career, including the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who mixed dance music with melodic sounds over a long-lasting collaboration.

Later Work and Comebacks

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

After another break, they reappeared in recent years, issuing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was supposed to be a final performance at the O2 Arena on 30 September, 2018.

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

Ball lately characterized the band's new album as a tribute to the New York club scene they frequented while making their first two albums.

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

"I experienced strange recollections when I was in and out of hospital because I was on morphine," he explained to a music magazine.

"Our latest tracks are a digital reflection of the noises in my head from that time.

"In parallel, it's about the experiences me and Marc had in the 1980s."

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