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

Alongside vocalist Marc Almond, the pair achieved a worldwide hit with their cover of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record their initial full-length release is considered a classic of electronic music.

He subsequently formed the innovative techno group The Grid, who achieved chart success with their 1994 single Swamp Thing.

Ball died peacefully in his rest at his home in London on October 22, just weeks after performing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in the Thames-side town.

Recent Health Challenges

During that show, Ball appeared in a wheelchair, as he had for the previous couple of years, following a period of ill-health.

"I ended up damage myself quite a bit," he stated in 2023. "I fractured spinal bones in my spine and cracked about multiple ribs and fractured my arm."

Following contracting pneumonia and developing sepsis, he was put in an induced coma and stayed in the hospital for half a year.

However, he had been in "a great place mentally" during the summer, as he was developing a new album with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is set for publication next year.

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

"It's so sad as next year was all set to be such an positive time for him, and I find comfort from the knowledge that he listened to the finished record and felt that it was a masterpiece."

Tributes

Almond described his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", 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 gave me. I couldn't be where I am without you."

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

"Forming a duo with someone is different from joining a group, the connection is very tight," he added.

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

Formative Years

Brought into the world into a single-parent household in the city of Chester in 1959, Ball was put up for adoption when he was a year and a half of age.

He grew up in the seaside town with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who altered his first name from his birth name to David, alongside his younger sister Susan, who was also adopted.

He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in the late 70s, where they were both studying art. Inspired by a shared love of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the very year, and quickly recorded an extended play.

Creative Collaboration

The pair were an unusual combination: Ball was the quiet technician, hunched over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all glitter and eye-liner; but they achieved a rare musical alchemy.

Ball had developed a fascination with electronic instruments after watching Kraftwerk perform on BBC program a popular series, and started to marry dark electronica to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.

Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second most popular song of 1981, shifting millions of copies globally. Alongside successful tracks by other artists, Human League and Ultravox, it contributed to paved the way for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.

The song was also featured on their full-length debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which spawned two additional top five singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.

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

Career Highlights

Fame had its upsides. "I enjoyed being able to afford my initial property, having financial security and travelling, which makes me sound like a Miss World," Ball recently shared with a publication.

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

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

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

They released one more album, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the group to concentrate on other projects.

Almond went on 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 combined dance music with melodic sounds over a enduring collaboration.

Later Work and Comebacks

Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, producing the charting record Cruelty Without Beauty.

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

However, they remained together, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.

Ball recently described the duo's new album as a tribute to the NYC nightlife they frequented while recording their first two albums.

He noted that his time in medical care had influenced the band's sound.

"I experienced strange recollections when I was coming and going of the hospital because I was on morphine," he told a music magazine.

"Our latest tracks are a electronic representation of the sounds in my head from that time.

"In parallel, it's about the times me and Marc had in the 80s."

The final mixes were finished only days before Ball passed away. It is due for release in the spring of 2026.