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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 team scored a worldwide hit with their version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in 1984, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a seminal work of electronic music.

He subsequently founded the innovative electronic act The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.

Ball passed away calmly in his sleep at his residence in London on Wednesday 22 October, just weeks after performing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in Henley-on-Thames.

Health Struggles

During that performance, Ball performed in a mobility chair, as he had for the previous couple of years, after a period of ill-health.

"I managed to injure myself significantly," he commented in 2023. "I fractured spinal bones in my back and fractured about five ribs and fractured my wrist."

Following catching pneumonia and suffering from sepsis, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and stayed in hospital for seven months.

Nevertheless, he had been in "high spirits mentally" during the summer, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is scheduled for release in the coming year.

"He was focused and very pleased with the latest project that we actually completed only a few days ago," said the vocalist in a heartfelt message.

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

Tributes

Almond referred to his collaborator as "an exceptionally talented creative mastermind", adding: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our body of work.

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

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

"Forming a duo with someone is distinct from joining a group, the bond is very tight," he continued.

"That was the case with us. We went through so many remarkable, extraordinary, memorable moments as a team. Many thanks, Dave."

Early Life

Born into a single-parent household in the city of Chester in 1959, Ball was put up for adoption when he was 18 months old.

He grew up in the seaside town with his new family Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his given name from Paul to his adopted name, alongside his sibling Susan, who was also adopted.

He met Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both studying art. Fuelled by a shared love of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and quickly produced an EP.

Musical Partnership

The pair were an distinctive combination: Ball was the quiet musician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all glitter and eye-liner; but they achieved a unique creative synergy.

Ball had developed a interest with electronic instruments after viewing the band Kraftwerk perform on BBC program a popular series, and started to combine dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.

Their signature song became the UK's second most popular single of the early 80s, shifting 21 million units worldwide. Together with successful tracks by other artists, Human League and electronic acts, it helped cleared the path for the synth-pop sound of the 80s.

The song was also included on their first album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which spawned two further top five singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.

They continued the record up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at number two in the following year.

Career Highlights

Fame had its benefits. "I loved being able to afford my initial property, having financial security and travelling, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball recently told with a music magazine.

But it also presented challenges. "Newfound wealth allowed we could afford substances to relieve the boredom" of media interviews and TV performances, Ball explained.

"I know that's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a valid cause, because it applies for so many musicians."

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

They put out one more LP, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the group to concentrate on other projects.

Almond proceeded to have a successful solo career, including the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who mixed dance music with ambient pop over a long-lasting partnership.

Reunions and Final Projects

Soft Cell came back together in the early 2000s, releasing the charting album Cruelty Without Beauty.

After a further break, they reappeared in recent years, issuing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was supposed to be a final performance at the O2 Arena on 30 September, that year.

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

Ball recently characterized the band's new album as a homage to the NYC nightlife they frequented while making their initial records.

He added that his time in hospital had influenced the group's music.

"I had strange recollections when I was coming and going of hospital because I was on pain medication," he explained to a music magazine.

"Our latest tracks are a electronic representation of the sounds in my mind from those days.

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

The final mixes were finished only days before Ball passed away. It is due for launch in Spring 2026.