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The talented musician, one half of the pioneering 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.

Alongside singer Marc Almond, the duo achieved a worldwide hit with their version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their debut album their initial full-length release is considered a seminal work of synth-pop.

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

Ball died peacefully in his rest at his home in London on October 22, only a short time after playing a headline show 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 last two years, following a spate of ill-health.

"I managed to damage myself quite a bit," he commented in 2023. "I broke spinal bones in my back and cracked about multiple ribs and broke my wrist."

Following contracting pneumonia and suffering from sepsis, he was put in an induced coma and stayed in the hospital for seven months.

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 release next year.

"He was concentrated and so happy with the new album that we actually completed only a few days ago," stated the vocalist in a tribute.

"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was completely planned to be such an uplifting year for him, and I take some solace from the knowledge that he heard the completed album and believed that it was a great piece of work."

Heartfelt Messages

Almond described his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant musical genius", 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 immense aspect of my life 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 "steadfast support".

"Being in a partnership with someone is distinct from being in a group, the bond is very tight," he continued.

"That was the case with us. We went through so many extraordinary, extraordinary, life-affirming moments together. Thank you, Dave."

Early Life

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

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

He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both learning fine arts. Fuelled by a shared love of Northern Soul, they established Soft Cell the very year, and promptly produced an EP.

Musical Partnership

The duo were an distinctive pairing: Ball was the reserved technician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant showman, all glitter and eye-liner; but they attained a unique creative synergy.

Ball had cultivated a fascination with synthesizers after viewing Kraftwerk perform on a television science show Tomorrow's World, and began to combine dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.

Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second most popular song of 1981, selling 21 million units worldwide. Together with hits by Gary Numan, Human League and electronic acts, it helped paved the path for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.

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

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

Professional Journey

Success had its benefits. "I loved being able to purchase my initial property, having money and travelling, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball not long ago told with a publication.

But it also caused challenges. "Sudden riches meant we could purchase newfound drugs to relieve the boredom" of press appearances and TV performances, Ball explained.

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

During the party-filled existence, the pair were also drifting apart, but they managed to create a second classic album - the wayward, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.

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

Almond proceeded to have a successful individual path, featuring the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who mixed acid house with ambient pop over a enduring collaboration.

Reunions and Final Projects

Soft Cell came back together in 2001, producing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.

Following a further hiatus, they returned in recent years, issuing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was intended to be a farewell show at the O2 Arena on 30 September, that year.

Yet, they stayed active, recording their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.

Ball recently described the duo's new album as a tribute to the NYC nightlife they visited while recording their first two albums.

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

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

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

"In parallel, it's about the experiences we had in the 1980s."

The final mixes were completed only a short time before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for launch in Spring 2026.