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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 singer Marc Almond, the team scored a worldwide hit 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 classic of synth-pop.

He subsequently formed the innovative techno group The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.

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

Health Struggles

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

"I ended up injure myself quite a bit," he commented in 2023. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my back and cracked about five ribs and fractured my arm."

Following contracting pneumonia and developing blood poisoning, he was placed in an medically-induced sleep and stayed in hospital for half a year.

However, 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 publication in the coming year.

"He was focused and very pleased with the latest project that we literally finished only a short time ago," said the vocalist in a heartfelt message.

"It's truly heartbreaking as 2026 was completely planned to be such an positive time for him, and I find comfort from the fact that he listened to the finished record and felt that it was a masterpiece."

Tributes

Almond described his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", stating: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our body of work.

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

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

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

"That's how it was with us. We experienced so many extraordinary, incredible, memorable moments together. Thank you, Dave."

Early Life

Brought into the world into a single-parent household in the city of Chester in 1959, Ball was put up for adoption when he was 18 months of age.

He grew up in Blackpool with his new family his caregivers, who changed his given 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 studying art. Fuelled by a mutual passion of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the very year, and quickly recorded an extended play.

Musical Partnership

The duo were an unusual pairing: Ball was the quiet musician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant showman, all glitter and eye-liner; but they achieved a unique musical alchemy.

Ball had cultivated a fascination with electronic instruments after viewing the band Kraftwerk appear on a television program Tomorrow's World, and began to combine dark electronica to the catchy tunes Almond was composing.

Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second most popular song of 1981, selling millions of copies globally. Alongside hits by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it contributed to cleared the way for the electronic music style of the 80s.

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

They followed the record up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which peaked at the second position in 1982.

Professional Journey

Success had its benefits. "I loved being able to purchase my first home, having financial security and travelling, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball not long ago told with a music magazine.

But it also presented challenges. "Newfound wealth allowed we could purchase newfound drugs to alleviate the monotony" of media interviews and TV performances, Ball said.

"I know that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a valid cause, because it applies for so many bands."

Amidst the hedonistic lifestyle, the pair were also growing distant, but they succeeded to produce a second classic album - the unconventional, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.

They released another LP, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the group 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 mixed dance music with melodic sounds over a long-lasting collaboration.

Reunions and Final Projects

Soft Cell reunited in 2001, releasing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.

After a further hiatus, they reappeared in recent years, releasing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was supposed to be a farewell show at the large venue on September 30, that year.

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

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

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

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

"Our latest tracks are a digital reflection of the noises in my head from those days.

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

The final mixes were completed only days before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for release in Spring 2026.