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The talented musician, one half of the innovative 1980s synth-pop duo Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.

Alongside singer Marc Almond, the team scored a global success with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their debut album their initial full-length release is regarded as a classic of electronic music.

He subsequently formed the pioneering techno group The Grid, who secured chart success with their 1994 single Swamp Thing.

Ball passed away peacefully in his rest at his home in London on October 22, just weeks after performing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in Henley-on-Thames.

Recent Health Challenges

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

"I managed to injure myself quite a bit," he stated in 2023. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my spine and fractured about five ribs and fractured my arm."

Following catching a lung infection and suffering from sepsis, he was put in an induced coma and stayed in hospital for half a year.

However, he had been in "high spirits mentally" over the summer, as he was developing a fresh record with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is scheduled for release next year.

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

"It's so sad as 2026 was all set to be such an positive year for him, and I take some solace from the fact that he heard the completed album 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 core essence of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our body of work.

"Thank you Dave for being an immense part of my existence and for the songs you created with me. I wouldn't be where I am without your influence."

His Grid bandmate from The Grid, also paid tribute, remembering Ball's "endless laughter" and "steadfast support".

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

"That's how it was with us. We experienced so many extraordinary, extraordinary, memorable moments together. Thank you, Dave."

Early Life

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

He was raised in the seaside town with adoptive parents his caregivers, who changed his given name from his birth name to David, together with his younger sister his sister, who was similarly welcomed.

He encountered Almond at an art college in the late 70s, where they were both learning fine arts. Inspired by a mutual passion of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and promptly recorded an extended play.

Creative Collaboration

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

Ball had developed a interest with synthesizers after watching Kraftwerk appear on a television program Tomorrow's World, and started to marry dark electronica to the catchy tunes Almond was composing.

Their signature song became the UK's second biggest-selling song of the early 80s, shifting millions of units globally. Alongside 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 first album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which spawned two additional high-charting hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.

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

Career Highlights

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

But it also caused challenges. "Sudden riches allowed we could afford newfound drugs to alleviate the boredom" of media interviews and television shows, Ball said.

"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a valid cause, because it works for so many bands."

During the hedonistic lifestyle, the pair were also drifting apart, but they succeeded to produce a follow-up classic album - the unconventional, edgy and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.

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

Almond proceeded to have a prosperous individual path, featuring the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who mixed acid house with ambient pop over a enduring collaboration.

Later Work and Comebacks

Soft Cell came back together in the early 2000s, producing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.

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

However, they remained together, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.

Ball recently characterized the band's new album as a tribute to the NYC nightlife they visited while recording their first two albums.

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

"I had strange recollections when I was in and out of hospital because I was on morphine," 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 got up to in the 80s."

The last versions were finished only days before Ball passed away. It is due for release in Spring 2026.