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

Alongside vocalist Marc Almond, the team scored a worldwide hit with their version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a seminal work of electronic music.

He later formed the pioneering electronic act The Grid, who achieved chart success with their 1994 single the hit Swamp Thing.

Ball passed away calmly in his sleep at his residence in London on October 22, only a short time after playing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in the Thames-side town.

Health Struggles

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

"I managed to injure myself quite a bit," he commented in 2023. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my spine and cracked about multiple ribs and broke my arm."

After contracting pneumonia and suffering from sepsis, he was placed in an medically-induced sleep and stayed in the 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, called the upcoming Danceteria, which is scheduled for release in the coming year.

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

"It's truly heartbreaking as 2026 was completely planned to be such an uplifting year for him, and I take some solace from the fact that he heard the completed album and believed that it was a masterpiece."

Tributes

Almond referred to his bandmate as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", stating: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our body of work.

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

Richard Norris from The Grid, also paid tribute, remembering Ball's "endless laughter" and "steadfast support".

"Forming a duo with someone is distinct from being in a group, the bond is incredibly close," he continued.

"That was the case with us. We went through so many extraordinary, incredible, 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 given up for adoption when he was a year and a half of age.

He was raised in Blackpool with adoptive parents his caregivers, who altered his given name from his birth name to David, alongside his younger sister his sister, who was similarly welcomed.

He encountered Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both studying fine arts. Inspired by a mutual passion of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the same year, and quickly recorded an EP.

Creative Collaboration

The pair were an unusual combination: Ball was the quiet technician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all glitter and makeup; but they achieved a unique musical alchemy.

Ball had cultivated a fascination with electronic instruments after viewing Kraftwerk appear on BBC program Tomorrow's World, and started to combine moody electronic sounds to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.

Their signature song became the United Kingdom's second most popular song of the early 80s, selling 21 million copies worldwide. Alongside successful tracks by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it helped paved the way for the electronic music style of the 1980s.

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

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

Professional Journey

Success had its benefits. "I enjoyed being able to afford my first home, having money and travelling, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball recently shared with a music magazine.

But it also caused problems. "Sudden riches meant we could afford newfound drugs to relieve the boredom" of press appearances 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 musicians."

During the party-filled existence, the pair were also growing distant, but they succeeded to produce a second memorable record - the wayward, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.

They released another LP, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band to concentrate on individual endeavors.

Almond went on 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 combined acid house with ambient pop over a enduring collaboration.

Reunions and Final Projects

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

After a further hiatus, they returned in recent years, releasing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was intended to be a farewell show at the large venue on 30 September, 2018.

Yet, they stayed active, recording their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.

Ball recently described the duo's new album as a tribute to the New York club scene they frequented while making their first two albums.

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

"I experienced strange recollections when I was in and out of the hospital because I was on morphine," he explained to a publication.

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

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

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