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

Together with singer Marc Almond, the team scored a global success with their cover of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a classic of electronic music.

He subsequently founded the pioneering techno group The Grid, who secured chart success with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.

Ball died peacefully in his sleep at his residence in London on October 22, only a short time after playing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in Henley-on-Thames.

Health Struggles

At that show, Ball performed in a mobility chair, as he had for the previous couple of years, after a spate of ill-health.

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

Following contracting a lung infection and suffering from sepsis, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and remained in hospital for seven months.

However, he had been in "a great place emotionally" over the summer, as he was developing a fresh record with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is set for publication next year.

"He was focused and so happy with the new album that we literally finished only a short time ago," said the singer in a heartfelt message.

"It's so sad as 2026 was completely planned to be such an uplifting time for him, and I take some solace from the knowledge that he heard the finished record and felt that it was a masterpiece."

Tributes

Almond referred to his bandmate as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", stating: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our body of work.

"Many thanks Dave for being an immense aspect of my existence and for the songs you gave me. I wouldn't be where I am without your influence."

Richard Norris from The Grid, shared his condolences, remembering Ball's "constant humor" and "steadfast support".

"Being in a duo with someone is distinct from being in a band, the bond is incredibly close," he added.

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

Early Life

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

He grew up in Blackpool with his new family his caregivers, who changed his given name from his birth name to David, together with his younger sister his sister, who was also adopted.

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 same year, and promptly recorded an EP.

Musical Partnership

The duo were an unusual pairing: Ball was the reserved musician, hunched over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all sparkle and makeup; but they attained a unique creative synergy.

Ball had developed a fascination with electronic instruments after viewing the band Kraftwerk appear on a television program Tomorrow's World, and started to combine dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.

Tainted Love became the UK's second most popular song of the early 80s, shifting millions of units worldwide. Alongside hits by other artists, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it helped cleared the path for the electronic music style of the 80s.

The track was also featured on their first album, their initial LP, which produced two further top five hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.

They followed 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 first home, having money and travelling, which might seem like a beauty queen," Ball not long ago told with a music magazine.

But it also presented challenges. "Sudden riches allowed we could purchase newfound drugs to relieve the monotony" of press appearances and TV performances, Ball said.

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

Amidst the party-filled existence, the pair were also drifting apart, but they managed to produce a second memorable record - the wayward, edgy and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.

They released one more album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band to focus on other projects.

Almond went on to have a successful solo career, featuring the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who combined dance music with ambient pop over a long-lasting collaboration.

Reunions and Final Projects

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

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

However, they remained active, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.

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

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

"I had unusual memories when I was in and out of the hospital because I was on pain medication," he told 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 me and Marc had in the 1980s."

The last versions were completed only days before Ball died. It is due for launch in the spring of 2026.