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

Alongside singer Marc Almond, the pair achieved a global success with their version of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in 1984, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a seminal work of synth-pop.

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

Ball passed away calmly in his rest 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.

Recent Health Challenges

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

"I ended up injure myself significantly," he commented in 2023. "I broke spinal bones in my back and fractured about multiple ribs and fractured my wrist."

Following contracting pneumonia and developing sepsis, he was placed in an induced coma and remained in the hospital for seven months.

However, he had been in "a great place mentally" over the summer, as he was developing a new album with Almond, called Danceteria, which is set for release next year.

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

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

Tributes

Almond referred to his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant musical genius", stating: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our legacy.

"Thank you Dave for being an immense aspect of my existence and for the music you gave me. I wouldn't be where I am without your influence."

His Grid bandmate from The Grid, shared his condolences, recalling Ball's "constant humor" and "unwavering friendship".

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

"That's how it was with us. We went through so many extraordinary, extraordinary, life-affirming experiences as a team. Thank you, 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 old.

He grew up in the seaside town with adoptive parents his caregivers, who changed his first name from Paul to David, alongside his younger sister Susan, who was also adopted.

He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both studying fine arts. Fuelled by a mutual passion of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and promptly recorded an EP.

Creative Collaboration

The pair were an unusual pairing: Ball was the reserved technician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant showman, all glitter and makeup; but they attained a rare creative synergy.

Ball had developed a interest with synthesizers after watching Kraftwerk perform on BBC science show a popular series, and started to combine dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.

Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling single of 1981, shifting millions of units worldwide. Together with successful tracks by other artists, Human League and Ultravox, it helped paved the path for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.

The song was also included on their first album, their initial LP, which produced two additional high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.

They followed the album up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which reached at number two in the following year.

Professional Journey

Success had its benefits. "I loved being able to afford my first home, having financial security and exploring, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball not long ago told with a music magazine.

But it also presented challenges. "Newfound wealth meant we could purchase substances to alleviate the monotony" of media interviews and television shows, Ball said.

"I realize that's a common saying, but it's a truism for a valid cause, because it works for so many bands."

During the party-filled existence, the pair were also drifting apart, but they managed to create a second memorable record - the wayward, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.

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

Almond went on to have a successful individual path, featuring the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who combined dance music with ambient pop over a long-lasting partnership.

Reunions and Final Projects

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

After a further break, they returned in recent years, releasing the new tracks 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 latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.

Ball lately characterized the duo's new album as a tribute to the NYC nightlife they visited while making their initial records.

He noted that his period in medical care had shaped the group's music.

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

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

"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences we had in the 1980s."

The last versions were finished only days before Ball died. It is scheduled for launch in Spring 2026.