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Dave Ball, one half of the pioneering 1980s synth-pop band Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.

Together with singer Marc Almond, the team scored a global success with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record their initial full-length release is regarded as a seminal work of electronic music.

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

Ball died peacefully in his sleep at his residence in London on Wednesday 22 October, just weeks after performing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in Henley-on-Thames.

Health Struggles

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

"I managed to damage myself quite a bit," he stated in 2023. "I fractured spinal bones in my spine and fractured about five ribs and fractured my wrist."

Following contracting pneumonia and suffering from blood poisoning, he was placed in an medically-induced sleep and stayed in the hospital for seven months.

However, he had been in "a great place emotionally" over the warmer months, as he was developing a new album with Almond, titled the upcoming Danceteria, which is scheduled for release in the coming year.

"He was concentrated and very pleased with the latest project that we actually finished only a few days ago," stated the singer in a tribute.

"It's so sad as next year was completely planned to be such an uplifting year for him, and I take some solace from the fact that he listened to the finished record and believed that it was a masterpiece."

Tributes

Almond referred to his bandmate as "an exceptionally talented musical genius", adding: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our legacy.

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

Richard Norris from The Grid, also paid tribute, remembering Ball's "constant humor" and "unwavering friendship".

"Being in a duo with someone is different from joining a band, the connection is very tight," he added.

"That's how it was with us. We experienced so many remarkable, incredible, life-affirming moments as a team. Many thanks, Dave."

Formative Years

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

He grew up in the seaside town with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his first name from his birth name to his adopted name, together with his sibling his sister, who was also adopted.

He encountered Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both studying art. Inspired by a shared love of Northern Soul, they established Soft Cell the very year, and quickly recorded an extended play.

Musical Partnership

The duo were an unusual combination: Ball was the quiet musician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all glitter and makeup; but they achieved a rare creative synergy.

Ball had developed a interest with synthesizers after watching Kraftwerk perform on a television program a popular series, and started to combine dark electronica to the catchy tunes Almond was composing.

Tainted Love became the UK's second biggest-selling song of 1981, selling millions of copies worldwide. Together with hits by Gary Numan, Human League and Ultravox, it helped paved the path for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.

The track was also featured on their first album, 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 the following year.

Professional Journey

Success had its upsides. "I enjoyed being able to purchase my first home, having financial security and exploring, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball not long ago told with a publication.

But it also caused challenges. "Sudden riches allowed we could purchase newfound drugs to relieve the boredom" of media interviews and TV performances, Ball said.

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

Amidst the party-filled existence, the duo were also drifting apart, but they succeeded to create a second memorable record - the wayward, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.

They put out one more album, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the band to concentrate on other projects.

Almond went on to have a successful solo career, featuring the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who mixed dance music with ambient pop over a enduring partnership.

Later Work and Comebacks

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

Following 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 large venue on 30 September, 2018.

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

Ball lately characterized the band's new album as a homage to the NYC nightlife they frequented while recording their first two albums.

He noted that his time in hospital had shaped the group's music.

"I had unusual memories when I was in and out of the hospital because I was on morphine," he explained to a music magazine.

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

"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences me and Marc had in the 80s."

The last versions were completed only a short time before Ball died. It is due for launch in Spring 2026.