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Dave Ball, a key member of the pioneering 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.

Alongside vocalist Marc Almond, the duo scored a global success with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their debut album their initial full-length release is regarded as a seminal work of electronic music.

He subsequently formed the pioneering techno group The Grid, who achieved chart success with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.

Ball passed away peacefully in his rest at his residence in London on October 22, just weeks after performing a headline show 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 previous couple of years, after a period of ill-health.

"I ended up injure myself significantly," he commented in 2023. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my spine and cracked about five ribs and broke my wrist."

After catching a lung infection and developing blood poisoning, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and remained in the hospital for half a year.

However, he had been in "high spirits emotionally" over the warmer months, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, called the upcoming Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication next year.

"He was focused and so happy with the new album that we actually completed only a few days ago," stated the vocalist in a tribute.

"It's so sad as next year was completely planned to be such an uplifting time for him, and I find comfort from the knowledge that he heard the completed album and believed that it was a great piece of work."

Heartfelt Messages

Almond referred to his collaborator as "an exceptionally talented musical genius", stating: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our body of work.

"Many thanks Dave for being an immense aspect of my existence and for the music you gave me. I couldn't be where I am without you."

His Grid bandmate from The Grid, shared his condolences, recalling Ball's "endless laughter" and "steadfast support".

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

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

Early Life

Brought into the world 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 Blackpool with his new family Donald and Brenda Ball, who altered his given name from his birth name to his adopted name, alongside his sibling Susan, who was also adopted.

He met Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both studying fine arts. Inspired by a shared love of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the very year, and promptly recorded an EP.

Creative Collaboration

The pair were an distinctive pairing: Ball was the quiet technician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic showman, all sparkle and makeup; but they achieved a unique creative synergy.

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

Their signature song became the UK's second biggest-selling single of 1981, shifting millions of copies worldwide. Alongside hits by other artists, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it helped cleared the path for the synth-pop sound of the 80s.

The track was also featured on their full-length debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which produced two further high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.

They continued the record up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at the second position in 1982.

Professional Journey

Success had its benefits. "I loved being able to purchase my first home, having money and travelling, which might seem like a beauty queen," Ball recently told with a publication.

But it also presented problems. "Sudden riches allowed we could purchase substances to relieve the monotony" of press appearances 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 bands."

Amidst the hedonistic lifestyle, the duo were also growing distant, but they managed to create a follow-up classic album - the unconventional, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.

They released one more album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band to focus on individual endeavors.

Almond went on to have a successful solo career, featuring the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who mixed acid house with melodic sounds over a enduring collaboration.

Reunions and Final Projects

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

After another hiatus, they returned in recent years, issuing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was intended to be a final performance at the large venue on September 30, that year.

However, they remained together, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.

Ball recently described the band's upcoming release as a homage to the New York club scene they visited while making their initial records.

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

"I had 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 noises in my mind from that time.

"In parallel, it's about the experiences we got up to in the 80s."

The last versions were finished only a short time before Ball passed away. It is due for release in Spring 2026.