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

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

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

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

Health Struggles

During that show, Ball appeared in a wheelchair, as he had for the last two years, after a spate of health issues.

"I managed to damage myself quite a bit," he stated in 2023. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my back and fractured about five ribs and broke my arm."

After catching a lung infection 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 emotionally" over the warmer months, as he worked on a new album 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 literally completed only a few days ago," said the vocalist in a heartfelt message.

"It's truly heartbreaking as 2026 was all set to be such an positive year for him, and I take some solace from the knowledge that he listened to the completed album and believed that it was a great piece of work."

Tributes

Almond described his bandmate as "an exceptionally talented musical genius", stating: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our body of work.

"Many thanks Dave for being an immense part of my life and for the songs you created with me. I wouldn'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 partnership with someone is different from joining a band, the bond is very tight," he added.

"That's how it was with us. We experienced so many extraordinary, incredible, memorable moments as a team. Many thanks, Dave."

Formative Years

Born into a single-parent household in the city of Chester in the late 50s, Ball was given up for adoption when he was a year and a half of age.

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

He met Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both studying art. Fuelled by a mutual passion of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the very year, and quickly produced an EP.

Musical Partnership

The pair were an unusual pairing: Ball was the quiet technician, hunched over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant showman, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they achieved a unique creative synergy.

Ball had cultivated a fascination with synthesizers after watching the band Kraftwerk appear on a television science show Tomorrow's World, and started to marry dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.

Their signature song became the UK's second biggest-selling song of the early 80s, selling 21 million copies globally. Alongside successful tracks by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it contributed to paved the way for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.

The track was also featured on their first album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which produced 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 1982.

Career Highlights

Success had its upsides. "I loved being able to purchase my first home, having financial security and travelling, which makes me sound like a Miss World," Ball not long ago shared with a music magazine.

But it also caused problems. "Sudden riches meant we could afford newfound drugs to alleviate the monotony" 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."

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

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

Almond proceeded to have a prosperous individual path, featuring 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 enduring collaboration.

Reunions and Final Projects

Soft Cell reunited in 2001, releasing the charting record Cruelty Without Beauty.

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

However, they remained together, recording their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic restrictions.

Ball lately described the duo's upcoming release as a homage to the NYC nightlife they visited while making their first two albums.

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

"I had strange recollections when I was in and out of the hospital because I was on morphine," he told a music magazine.

"The new songs are a electronic representation of the sounds in my mind from that time.

"Simultaneously, it's about the times we had in the 80s."

The last versions were completed only days before Ball passed away. It is due for launch in the spring of 2026.