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

Together with singer Marc Almond, the pair scored a global success with their version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a seminal work of electronic music.

He subsequently founded the innovative electronic act The Grid, who secured chart success with their 1994 single the hit Swamp Thing.

Ball passed away peacefully in his sleep at his residence in London on October 22, just weeks after playing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in the Thames-side town.

Health Struggles

During that performance, Ball performed in a wheelchair, as he had for the last two years, after a spate of ill-health.

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

After contracting a lung infection and developing sepsis, he was put in an induced coma and remained in hospital for seven months.

Nevertheless, he had been in "high spirits mentally" over the summer, as he worked on a new album with Almond, called the upcoming Danceteria, which is set for publication in the coming year.

"He was concentrated and very pleased with the new album that we literally finished only a few days ago," said the vocalist in a heartfelt message.

"It's so sad as next year was all set to be such an uplifting year for him, and I find comfort from the knowledge that he listened to the completed album and believed that it was a masterpiece."

Tributes

Almond referred to his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant musical genius", stating: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our legacy.

"Many thanks Dave for being an immense part of my life and for the music you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without your influence."

Richard Norris from The Grid, also paid tribute, recalling Ball's "constant humor" and "unwavering friendship".

"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 remarkable, incredible, memorable moments as a team. Thank you, Dave."

Early Life

Brought into the world into a one-parent family in Chester in 1959, Ball was put up for adoption when he was a year and a half old.

He was raised in the seaside town with adoptive parents his caregivers, who changed his given name from Paul to David, alongside his sibling Susan, who was similarly welcomed.

He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both studying art. Fuelled by a mutual passion of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and promptly recorded an EP.

Creative Collaboration

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

Ball had cultivated a fascination with electronic instruments after watching Kraftwerk appear on a television program a popular series, and began to marry dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.

Their signature song became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling single of 1981, selling 21 million units globally. Together with hits by other artists, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it helped paved the way for the electronic music style of the 80s.

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

They continued the record up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which reached at the second position in the following year.

Career Highlights

Success had its upsides. "I enjoyed being able to purchase my initial property, having money and exploring, which makes me sound like a Miss World," Ball not long ago told with a music magazine.

But it also caused problems. "Newfound wealth allowed we could afford newfound drugs 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 musicians."

During the party-filled existence, the pair were also growing distant, but they managed to produce a second memorable record - the wayward, edgy and fittingly named 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 prosperous individual path, including the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who combined acid house with melodic sounds over a long-lasting collaboration.

Reunions and Final Projects

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

After another break, they returned in recent years, issuing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was intended to be a farewell show at the O2 Arena on September 30, 2018.

Yet, they stayed active, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic restrictions.

Ball recently characterized the band's new album as a homage to the NYC nightlife they frequented while making their first two albums.

He noted that his time in hospital had shaped the group's music.

"I had strange recollections when I was coming and going of the hospital because I was on pain medication," he explained to a music magazine.

"The new songs are a electronic representation of the sounds in my mind from that time.

"Simultaneously, it's about the times me and Marc had in the 80s."

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