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

Alongside singer Marc Almond, the pair scored a global success with their version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a seminal work of synth-pop.

He later formed the innovative electronic act The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with their 1994 single the hit Swamp Thing.

Ball passed away calmly 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 music event in Henley-on-Thames.

Recent Health Challenges

During that show, Ball appeared in a mobility chair, as he had for the last two years, after a spate of health issues.

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

Following contracting a lung infection and developing blood poisoning, he was placed in an induced coma and remained in the hospital for half a year.

However, he had been in "high spirits mentally" during the summer, as he was developing a new album with Almond, titled the upcoming Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication in the coming year.

"He was concentrated and very pleased with the latest project that we actually completed only a short time ago," stated the singer in a tribute.

"It's truly heartbreaking as 2026 was all set to be such an uplifting time for him, and I take some solace from the knowledge that he heard the completed album and believed that it was a masterpiece."

Tributes

Almond described his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant musical genius", stating: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our legacy.

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

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

"Forming a duo with someone is different from being in a group, the bond is very tight," he added.

"That was the case with us. We experienced so many remarkable, incredible, life-affirming moments together. Thank you, 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 18 months old.

He grew up in the seaside town with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his given name from his birth name to David, alongside his sibling Susan, who was similarly welcomed.

He met Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both learning art. Fuelled by a mutual passion of Northern Soul, they formed Soft Cell the very year, and promptly recorded an extended play.

Creative Collaboration

The pair were an unusual combination: Ball was the reserved musician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a charismatic showman, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they achieved a unique creative synergy.

Ball had cultivated a interest with electronic instruments after viewing Kraftwerk appear on a television science show Tomorrow's World, and began to marry moody electronic sounds to the catchy tunes Almond was composing.

Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second most popular single of 1981, selling 21 million units worldwide. Together with successful tracks by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it helped paved the way for the synth-pop sound of the 80s.

The song was also featured on their first album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which produced two further 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.

Professional Journey

Success had its upsides. "I enjoyed being able to afford my initial property, having money and travelling, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball not long ago shared with a publication.

But it also presented problems. "Sudden riches allowed we could purchase substances to relieve the monotony" of media interviews and TV performances, Ball said.

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

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

They put out one more album, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group to concentrate 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 acid house with ambient pop over a long-lasting collaboration.

Later Work and Comebacks

Soft Cell reunited in 2001, releasing the charting album Cruelty Without Beauty.

After a further break, they reappeared in 2018, releasing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was supposed to be a farewell show at the large venue on 30 September, 2018.

However, they stayed together, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic restrictions.

Ball recently described the band's new album as a homage to the New York club scene they visited while recording their initial records.

He added that his time in medical care had shaped the group's music.

"I had unusual memories when I was in and out of hospital because I was on pain medication," he told a music magazine.

"The new songs are a electronic representation of the sounds in my head from that time.

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

The final mixes were completed only days before Ball died. It is scheduled for release in Spring 2026.