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Dave Ball, a key member of the innovative 1980s synth-pop band Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.

Together with vocalist Marc Almond, the pair scored a worldwide hit with their version 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 later founded the pioneering techno group The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.

Ball passed away calmly in his sleep at his home in London on October 22, only a short time after performing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in Henley-on-Thames.

Recent Health Challenges

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

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

After catching pneumonia and developing blood poisoning, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and remained in hospital for seven months.

Nevertheless, he had been in "high spirits mentally" over the warmer months, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, titled the upcoming Danceteria, which is set for publication next year.

"He was focused and very pleased with the latest project that we literally finished only a short time ago," said the singer in a heartfelt message.

"It's truly heartbreaking as 2026 was all set to be such an positive year for him, and I find comfort from the fact that he listened to the completed album and believed that it was a masterpiece."

Heartfelt Messages

Almond referred to his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", stating: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our legacy.

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

His Grid bandmate from The Grid, also paid tribute, recalling Ball's "endless laughter" and "unwavering friendship".

"Being in a partnership with someone is different from joining a band, the connection is incredibly close," he continued.

"That's how it was with us. We experienced so many extraordinary, extraordinary, life-affirming moments as a team. Thank you, Dave."

Formative Years

Brought into the world into a single-parent household in Chester in 1959, Ball was given up for adoption when he was 18 months of age.

He grew up in the seaside town with his new family Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his given name from his birth name to his adopted name, together with his younger sister Susan, who was similarly welcomed.

He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both studying fine arts. Inspired by a mutual passion of Northern Soul, they established Soft Cell the very year, and quickly produced an EP.

Musical Partnership

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

Ball had developed a interest with electronic instruments after viewing the band Kraftwerk perform on BBC science show Tomorrow's World, and began to combine dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.

Tainted Love became the UK's second most popular single of the early 80s, selling 21 million copies worldwide. Together with hits by other artists, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it contributed to paved the way for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.

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

They continued the album up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which peaked at number two in 1982.

Career Highlights

Success had its upsides. "I enjoyed being able to afford my first home, having financial security and travelling, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball recently shared with a publication.

But it also caused challenges. "Sudden riches allowed we could afford substances to relieve the boredom" 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 works for so many musicians."

During the party-filled existence, the duo were also drifting apart, but they managed to create a follow-up memorable record - the unconventional, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.

They released another LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group to concentrate on other projects.

Almond went on to have a prosperous solo career, including the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who mixed dance music with melodic sounds over a enduring collaboration.

Reunions and Final Projects

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

Following a further break, they reappeared in 2018, issuing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was intended to be a final performance at the large venue on 30 September, 2018.

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

Ball recently described the duo's upcoming release as a tribute to the NYC nightlife they visited while recording their first two albums.

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

"I had unusual memories when I was coming and going 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 that time.

"Simultaneously, it's about the times me and Marc got up to in the 80s."

The final mixes were completed only a short time before Ball died. It is due for release in Spring 2026.