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

Alongside singer Marc Almond, the team achieved a worldwide hit with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in 1984, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a classic of electronic music.

He later formed the innovative techno group The Grid, who achieved popular acclaim with 1994's Swamp Thing.

Ball died calmly in his rest at his home in London on Wednesday 22 October, just weeks after playing a featured performance 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 spate of health issues.

"I managed to injure myself quite a bit," he stated in 2023. "I fractured spinal bones in my spine and cracked about five ribs and broke my wrist."

Following catching pneumonia and suffering from blood poisoning, he was placed in an medically-induced sleep and stayed in the hospital for seven months.

Nevertheless, he had been in "a great place mentally" over the summer, as he worked on a new album with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is set for release in the coming year.

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

"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 listened to the finished record and believed that it was a great piece of work."

Tributes

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

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

His Grid bandmate from The Grid, shared his condolences, remembering Ball's "endless laughter" and "unwavering friendship".

"Being in a partnership with someone is distinct from joining a group, the connection is very tight," he continued.

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

Formative Years

Brought into the world into a one-parent family in Chester in 1959, Ball was put up for adoption when he was 18 months old.

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

He met Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both learning fine arts. Inspired by a shared love of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and promptly produced an EP.

Musical Partnership

The duo were an unusual combination: Ball was the reserved technician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all glitter and eye-liner; but they achieved a rare creative synergy.

Ball had cultivated a fascination with electronic instruments after viewing the band Kraftwerk appear on BBC program Tomorrow's World, and began to combine moody electronic sounds to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.

Tainted Love became the UK's second most popular single of the early 80s, shifting 21 million units globally. Together with successful tracks by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it helped cleared the path for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.

The track was also featured on their full-length debut, their initial LP, which produced two additional top five hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.

They followed the record up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which reached at the second position in 1982.

Professional Journey

Success had its upsides. "I loved being able to purchase my first home, 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 alleviate the boredom" of media interviews and TV performances, Ball said.

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

During the party-filled existence, the pair were also drifting apart, but they succeeded to produce a second classic album - the wayward, edgy and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.

They put out one more LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band to focus on individual endeavors.

Almond proceeded to have a successful individual path, featuring the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who combined acid house with melodic sounds over a long-lasting collaboration.

Later Work and Comebacks

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

Following another break, they returned in 2018, issuing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was supposed to be a farewell show at the large venue on September 30, that year.

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

Ball lately described the band's new album as a tribute to the NYC nightlife they visited while making their initial records.

He added that his period in medical care had influenced the group's music.

"I had unusual memories when I was in and out of the hospital because I was on morphine," he explained to a music magazine.

"The new songs are a digital reflection of the sounds in my head from those days.

"In parallel, it's about the times me and Marc got up to in the 1980s."

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