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The talented musician, a key member of the innovative 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.

Together with vocalist Marc Almond, the team scored 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 subsequently founded the pioneering techno group The Grid, who achieved chart success with 1994's Swamp Thing.

Ball died calmly in his sleep at his residence in London on Wednesday 22 October, only a short time after playing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in Henley-on-Thames.

Recent Health Challenges

At that show, Ball performed in a mobility chair, as he had for the previous couple of years, after a period of ill-health.

"I managed to damage myself significantly," he stated in 2023. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my spine and cracked about multiple ribs and broke my arm."

Following catching a lung infection and developing blood poisoning, he was placed in an induced coma and remained in the hospital for half a year.

Nevertheless, he had been in "high spirits emotionally" during the warmer months, 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 so happy with the new album that we literally completed only a short time ago," said the singer in a heartfelt message.

"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was all set to be such an uplifting time for him, and I find comfort from the fact that he heard the completed album and believed that it was a great piece of work."

Heartfelt Messages

Almond described his bandmate as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", adding: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our body of work.

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

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

"Being in a duo with someone is different from being in a band, the bond is incredibly close," he continued.

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

Formative Years

Brought into the world into a single-parent household in the city of Chester in the late 50s, 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 altered his first name from his birth name to his adopted name, alongside his younger sister his sister, who was also adopted.

He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both studying art. Fuelled by a shared love of Northern Soul, they established Soft Cell the same year, and quickly produced an extended play.

Musical Partnership

The pair were an unusual pairing: Ball was the reserved musician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant showman, all glitter and makeup; but they achieved a unique creative synergy.

Ball had cultivated a interest with electronic instruments after viewing the band Kraftwerk perform on BBC program Tomorrow's World, and began to marry dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.

Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling single of 1981, selling millions of units worldwide. Together with hits by other artists, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it contributed to cleared the way for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.

The song was also included on their full-length debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which spawned two further high-charting hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.

They continued the record up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at the second position in 1982.

Professional Journey

Fame 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 presented problems. "Sudden riches allowed we could purchase substances to alleviate the monotony" of press appearances and television shows, Ball explained.

"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a valid cause, because it works for so many musicians."

During the hedonistic lifestyle, the pair were also drifting apart, but they managed to produce a follow-up classic album - the wayward, edgy and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.

They released another LP, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the band to focus on individual endeavors.

Almond went on to have a successful solo career, featuring the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who combined acid house with ambient pop over a long-lasting partnership.

Later Work and Comebacks

Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, releasing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.

Following 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 intended to be a farewell show at the large venue on 30 September, 2018.

However, they stayed together, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.

Ball lately described the band's new album as a tribute to the New York club scene they frequented while recording their initial records.

He added that his time in medical care had shaped the band's sound.

"I had unusual memories when I was coming and going of hospital because I was on morphine," he told a publication.

"The new songs are a digital reflection of the noises in my mind from those days.

"Simultaneously, it's about the times we had in the 80s."

The last versions were finished only days before Ball passed away. It is due for release in Spring 2026.