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

Alongside singer Marc Almond, the team scored a worldwide hit 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 classic of electronic music.

He later founded the innovative techno group The Grid, who secured chart success with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.

Ball died calmly in his sleep at his residence in London on October 22, only a short time after playing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in Henley-on-Thames.

Health Struggles

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

"I ended up injure myself quite a bit," he stated in a recent interview. "I broke lower vertebrae in my spine and fractured about multiple ribs and broke my wrist."

Following contracting a lung infection and suffering from sepsis, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and remained in the hospital for seven months.

Nevertheless, he had been in "high spirits mentally" over the summer, as he was developing a new album with Almond, titled the upcoming Danceteria, which is set for release next year.

"He was concentrated and very pleased with the latest project that we actually finished only a short time ago," said the vocalist in a tribute.

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

Heartfelt Messages

Almond described his collaborator 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 immense part of my existence and for the music you gave me. I couldn't be where I am without your influence."

Richard Norris from The Grid, shared his condolences, recalling Ball's "endless laughter" and "unwavering friendship".

"Forming a duo with someone is distinct from being in a band, the connection is very tight," he added.

"That's how it was with us. We went through so many extraordinary, extraordinary, memorable experiences as a team. Thank you, Dave."

Early Life

Born into a single-parent household in Chester in 1959, Ball was given up for adoption when he was a year and a half old.

He grew up in Blackpool with his new family Donald and Brenda Ball, who altered his first name from Paul to David, alongside his younger sister Susan, who was similarly welcomed.

He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in the late 70s, where they were both learning art. Fuelled by a shared love of Northern Soul, they formed Soft Cell the very year, and quickly recorded an extended play.

Musical Partnership

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

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

Their signature song became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling song of 1981, shifting millions of copies globally. Alongside successful tracks by other artists, Human League and Ultravox, it helped paved the way for the electronic music style of the 1980s.

The track was also included on their first album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which produced two additional high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.

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

Career Highlights

Success had its benefits. "I loved being able to afford my first home, having financial security and exploring, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball recently told with a publication.

But it also caused problems. "Sudden riches meant we could afford newfound drugs to alleviate the boredom" of press appearances and television shows, Ball explained.

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

During the hedonistic lifestyle, the duo were also drifting apart, but they managed to produce a second memorable record - the unconventional, edgy and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.

They released another album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group to focus on other projects.

Almond proceeded to have a prosperous individual path, featuring the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who mixed dance music with melodic sounds over a enduring collaboration.

Reunions and Final Projects

Soft Cell came back together in 2001, producing the charting album Cruelty Without Beauty.

Following another 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 final performance at the O2 Arena on 30 September, 2018.

However, they remained together, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.

Ball lately characterized the duo's upcoming release as a homage to the New York club scene they frequented while making their initial records.

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

"I experienced unusual memories when I was coming and going of the hospital because I was on pain medication," he explained to a publication.

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

"In parallel, it's about the times me and Marc got up to in the 1980s."

The final mixes were finished only days before Ball died. It is scheduled for release in the spring of 2026.