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Dave Ball, a key member of the groundbreaking 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.

Alongside singer Marc Almond, the team scored a worldwide hit with their cover of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in 1984, and their first record their initial full-length release is considered a seminal work of synth-pop.

He later formed the pioneering electronic act The Grid, who achieved popular acclaim with their 1994 single the hit Swamp Thing.

Ball died peacefully in his rest 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

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

"I managed to injure myself significantly," he commented in 2023. "I broke spinal bones in my back and fractured about multiple ribs and broke my arm."

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

Nevertheless, he had been in "a great place mentally" during the summer, as he was developing a new album with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication in the coming year.

"He was focused and very pleased with the new album that we literally completed only a short time ago," stated the singer in a tribute.

"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was completely planned to be such an positive time for him, and I find comfort from the knowledge that he heard the finished record and believed that it was a great piece of work."

Heartfelt Messages

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

"Many thanks Dave for being an significant aspect of my life and for the songs you gave me. I wouldn't be where I am without your influence."

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

"Forming a partnership with someone is distinct from being in a band, the connection is incredibly close," 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 the city of Chester in the late 50s, Ball was put up for adoption when he was a year and a half of age.

He grew up in Blackpool with adoptive parents his caregivers, who altered his given name from Paul to David, together with his sibling his sister, who was also adopted.

He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both studying fine arts. Inspired by a mutual passion of Northern Soul, they formed Soft Cell the very year, and promptly produced an extended play.

Creative Collaboration

The duo were an distinctive combination: Ball was the reserved musician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a charismatic showman, all glitter and makeup; but they achieved a rare musical alchemy.

Ball had cultivated a interest with synthesizers after viewing the band Kraftwerk perform on BBC program a popular series, and started to marry moody electronic sounds to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.

Tainted Love became the UK's second biggest-selling song of the early 80s, shifting millions of copies worldwide. Together with hits by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it helped paved the path for the electronic music style of the 80s.

The song was also included on their full-length debut, their initial LP, which produced two additional top five singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.

They continued the album 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 initial property, having money and travelling, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball not long ago shared with a publication.

But it also presented challenges. "Sudden riches meant we could afford substances to alleviate the boredom" of media interviews and television shows, Ball explained.

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

During the party-filled existence, the duo were also growing distant, but they succeeded to create a follow-up classic album - the wayward, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.

They released another LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band to concentrate on other projects.

Almond went on to have a prosperous solo career, including the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed 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, releasing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.

After a further break, they reappeared in recent years, releasing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was intended to be a final performance at the large venue on September 30, 2018.

However, they remained together, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.

Ball lately described the duo's upcoming release as a homage to the NYC nightlife they visited while making their initial records.

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

"I had strange recollections when I was coming and going 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 those days.

"Simultaneously, it's about the times we got up to in the 80s."

The final mixes were finished only a short time before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for launch in the spring of 2026.