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Dave Ball, one half of the innovative 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.

Together with vocalist Marc Almond, the pair achieved a global success with their cover of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a seminal work of electronic music.

He later formed the pioneering 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 October 22, just weeks after playing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in the Thames-side town.

Health Struggles

At that performance, Ball performed in a wheelchair, as he had for the last two years, following a spate of ill-health.

"I ended up injure myself quite a bit," he commented in 2023. "I broke lower vertebrae in my back and fractured about multiple ribs and broke my arm."

Following catching a lung infection and developing blood poisoning, he was put in an induced coma and stayed in hospital for seven months.

However, he had been in "high spirits emotionally" over the summer, as he worked on a new album with Almond, titled the upcoming Danceteria, which is set for publication in the coming year.

"He was concentrated and very pleased with the new album that we actually finished only a short time ago," stated the vocalist in a heartfelt message.

"It's so sad 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 finished record and felt that it was a masterpiece."

Tributes

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

"Many thanks Dave for being an significant part of my life and for the music you gave me. I wouldn't be where I am without you."

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

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

"That was the case with us. We went through so many remarkable, incredible, life-affirming moments as a team. Many thanks, Dave."

Early Life

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

He was raised in Blackpool with his new family his caregivers, who changed his first name from Paul to David, together with his younger sister Susan, who was also adopted.

He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both learning art. Fuelled by a mutual passion of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the same year, and quickly produced an EP.

Creative Collaboration

The pair were an unusual pairing: Ball was the reserved musician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all glitter and eye-liner; but they attained a rare musical alchemy.

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

Their signature song became the United Kingdom's second most popular song of 1981, selling 21 million copies worldwide. Alongside successful tracks by Gary Numan, Human League and Ultravox, it contributed to paved the path for the synth-pop sound of the 80s.

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

They continued the album up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at the second position in the following year.

Career Highlights

Success had its benefits. "I loved being able to afford my first home, having money and travelling, which makes me sound like a Miss World," Ball recently shared with a publication.

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

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

Amidst the party-filled existence, the pair were also growing distant, but they managed to produce a follow-up classic album - the unconventional, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.

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

Almond proceeded to have a prosperous solo career, featuring the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who mixed acid house with melodic sounds over a enduring collaboration.

Later Work and Comebacks

Soft Cell came back together in 2001, producing the charting record 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 intended to be a final performance at the O2 Arena on 30 September, that year.

However, they stayed active, recording their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.

Ball lately described the duo's upcoming release as a tribute to the New York club scene they frequented while recording their first two albums.

He noted that his period in hospital had influenced the band's sound.

"I experienced 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 electronic representation of the noises in my head from that time.

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

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