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Dave Ball, one half of the groundbreaking 1980s synth-pop duo Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.

Together with vocalist Marc Almond, the team scored a global success with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a seminal work of synth-pop.

He subsequently formed the pioneering techno group The Grid, who achieved chart success with their 1994 single Swamp Thing.

Ball passed away calmly in his sleep at his home 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.

Recent Health Challenges

During that show, Ball appeared in a mobility chair, as he had for the previous couple of years, following a spate of ill-health.

"I managed to damage myself quite a bit," he stated in 2023. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my spine and fractured about multiple ribs and broke my wrist."

Following contracting pneumonia and suffering from sepsis, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and stayed in the hospital for half a year.

However, he had been in "a great place mentally" over the summer, as he was developing a fresh record with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication next year.

"He was concentrated and so happy with the latest project that we actually finished only a short time ago," stated the singer 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 knowledge that he heard the finished record and felt that it was a masterpiece."

Tributes

Almond described 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.

"Many thanks Dave for being an significant aspect of my life and for the music you created with me. I wouldn't be where I am without you."

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

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

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

Early Life

Brought into the world into a single-parent household in Chester in the late 50s, Ball was given up for adoption when he was a year and a half old.

He was raised in Blackpool with his new family Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his first name from his birth name to his adopted name, together with his sibling Susan, who was also adopted.

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

Creative Collaboration

The duo were an unusual combination: Ball was the reserved musician, 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 the band Kraftwerk perform on a television program a popular series, and began to marry dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.

Their signature song became the UK's second biggest-selling song of 1981, selling 21 million copies globally. Together with hits by other artists, Human League and electronic acts, it helped cleared the way for the synth-pop sound of the 80s.

The track was also featured on their full-length debut, their initial LP, which produced two additional high-charting hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.

They continued the record up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which reached at the second position in the following year.

Career Highlights

Fame had its upsides. "I loved being able to afford my initial property, having financial security and exploring, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball not long ago told with a publication.

But it also presented challenges. "Sudden riches allowed we could purchase substances to alleviate the boredom" of press appearances and television shows, Ball said.

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

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

They put out another album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the band to focus on other projects.

Almond proceeded to have a successful solo career, including 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 collaboration.

Reunions and Final Projects

Soft Cell came back together in 2001, releasing the Top 40 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 performing what was intended to be a final performance at the O2 Arena on September 30, 2018.

However, they remained active, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.

Ball recently characterized the band's new album as a homage to the New York club scene they visited while making their first two albums.

He noted that his period in medical care had influenced the band's sound.

"I had strange recollections when I was in and out of the hospital because I was on pain medication," he explained to a music magazine.

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

"Simultaneously, it's about the times me and Marc had in the 1980s."

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