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

Together with vocalist 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 considered a seminal work of electronic music.

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

Ball died calmly in his rest at his residence in London on Wednesday 22 October, just weeks after performing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in the Thames-side town.

Health Struggles

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

"I managed to injure myself significantly," he stated in a recent interview. "I broke lower vertebrae in my back and cracked about multiple ribs and broke my arm."

Following catching pneumonia and suffering from sepsis, he was placed in an medically-induced sleep and stayed in hospital for seven months.

Nevertheless, he had been in "a great place emotionally" over the summer, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, titled the upcoming 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 few days ago," said the singer in a tribute.

"It's so sad as 2026 was all set to be such an positive time 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 referred to his bandmate as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", adding: "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 music you gave me. I wouldn't be where I am without you."

His Grid bandmate from The Grid, shared his condolences, recalling Ball's "endless laughter" and "unwavering friendship".

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

"That was the case with us. We went through so many extraordinary, incredible, memorable moments together. Many thanks, Dave."

Early Life

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

He was raised in Blackpool with his new family his caregivers, who changed his given name from Paul to David, together with his younger sister his sister, who was similarly welcomed.

He met Almond at an art college in the late 70s, where they were both learning art. Fuelled by a mutual passion of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the same year, and quickly produced an extended play.

Musical Partnership

The pair were an unusual combination: Ball was the quiet musician, hunched over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic showman, all glitter and makeup; but they achieved a rare musical alchemy.

Ball had cultivated a fascination with synthesizers after watching the band Kraftwerk perform on BBC program Tomorrow's World, and started to combine dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.

Their signature song became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling song of the early 80s, shifting millions of copies worldwide. Together with successful tracks by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it helped paved the path for the electronic music style of the 1980s.

The track was also included on their first album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which spawned two further top five singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.

They followed the record up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at the second position in the following year.

Career Highlights

Fame had its benefits. "I loved being able to afford my first home, having money 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 meant we could afford substances to relieve the monotony" of media interviews and TV performances, Ball said.

"I realize that's a common saying, but it's a truism for a good reason, because it works for so many musicians."

Amidst the party-filled existence, the duo were also growing distant, but they managed to create a follow-up classic album - the unconventional, edgy and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.

They released another LP, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band to focus on other projects.

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

Later Work and Comebacks

Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, producing the Top 40 album Cruelty Without Beauty.

After a further break, they reappeared 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 September 30, 2018.

However, they stayed active, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.

Ball lately described the duo's upcoming release as a tribute to the NYC nightlife they frequented while recording their first two albums.

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

"I experienced unusual memories when I was coming and going of hospital because I was on morphine," he told a music magazine.

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

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

The last versions were completed only days before Ball passed away. It is due for launch in the spring of 2026.