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

Alongside vocalist Marc Almond, the duo achieved a worldwide hit with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a seminal work of synth-pop.

He subsequently formed the pioneering electronic act The Grid, who secured chart success with 1994's Swamp Thing.

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

Recent Health Challenges

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

"I ended up damage myself quite a bit," he stated in 2023. "I fractured spinal bones in my spine and fractured about multiple ribs and broke my wrist."

After contracting pneumonia and developing sepsis, he was put in an induced coma and remained in hospital for half a year.

Nevertheless, he had been in "a great place emotionally" over the summer, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is scheduled for release next year.

"He was focused and very pleased with the new album that we literally finished only a short time ago," stated the vocalist in a tribute.

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

Heartfelt Messages

Almond referred to his collaborator as "an exceptionally talented creative mastermind", stating: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our legacy.

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

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

"Forming a partnership with someone is different from being in a group, the connection is very tight," he continued.

"That was the case with us. We experienced so many remarkable, extraordinary, life-affirming moments together. Many thanks, Dave."

Early Life

Brought into the world 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 of age.

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

He met Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in the late 70s, where they were both learning fine arts. Fuelled by a shared love of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the very year, and quickly recorded an extended play.

Creative Collaboration

The pair were an unusual pairing: Ball was the quiet technician, hunched over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic showman, all sparkle and makeup; but they achieved a rare creative synergy.

Ball had cultivated a fascination with synthesizers after viewing the band Kraftwerk perform on BBC program Tomorrow's World, and began to combine dark electronica to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.

Tainted Love became the UK's second most popular single of the early 80s, shifting 21 million copies worldwide. Alongside successful tracks by other artists, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it helped cleared the way for the synth-pop sound of the 80s.

The track was also included on their first album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which spawned two further top five hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.

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

Professional Journey

Success had its benefits. "I loved being able to purchase my initial property, having money and exploring, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball not long ago shared with a publication.

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

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

During the party-filled existence, the duo were also growing distant, but they succeeded to create a second memorable record - the wayward, edgy and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.

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

Almond proceeded to have a prosperous solo career, featuring the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who combined dance music with melodic sounds over a enduring collaboration.

Later Work and Comebacks

Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, releasing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.

After a further hiatus, they reappeared in 2018, issuing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was intended to be a final performance at the large venue on September 30, that year.

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

Ball recently characterized the duo's new album as a homage to the New York club scene they frequented while recording their initial records.

He noted that his time in medical care had influenced the band's sound.

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

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

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

The last versions were finished only a short time before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for release in Spring 2026.