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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.

Together with vocalist Marc Almond, the pair scored a global success with their version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a seminal work of synth-pop.

He later formed the innovative techno group The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.

Ball passed away peacefully in his sleep at his residence in London on Wednesday 22 October, only a short time after playing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in Henley-on-Thames.

Recent Health Challenges

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

"I ended up damage myself significantly," he stated in 2023. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my spine and cracked about five ribs and fractured my wrist."

After contracting a lung infection and developing blood poisoning, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and stayed in hospital for seven months.

However, he had been in "high spirits emotionally" over the warmer months, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, titled the upcoming Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication next year.

"He was focused and very pleased with the new album that we actually 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 time for him, and I find comfort from the knowledge that he listened to the finished record and believed that it was a great piece of work."

Heartfelt Messages

Almond described his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant musical genius", stating: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our body of work.

"Thank you Dave for being an significant aspect of my life and for the songs you created with me. I wouldn't be where I am without you."

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

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

"That's how it was with us. We experienced so many extraordinary, extraordinary, memorable experiences together. Many thanks, Dave."

Early Life

Born 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 Blackpool with adoptive parents his caregivers, who changed his first name from Paul to David, together with his younger sister Susan, who was similarly welcomed.

He met Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in the late 70s, where they were both studying art. Inspired by a mutual passion of Northern Soul, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and promptly recorded an extended play.

Musical Partnership

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

Ball had developed a interest with electronic instruments after watching Kraftwerk perform on a television program a popular series, and began to marry moody electronic sounds to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.

Tainted Love became the UK's second biggest-selling song of 1981, selling 21 million units worldwide. Together with hits by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it helped paved the way for the synth-pop sound of the 80s.

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

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

Career Highlights

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

But it also presented problems. "Newfound wealth meant we could afford newfound drugs to relieve the boredom" of media interviews and TV performances, Ball explained.

"I know that's a common saying, but it's a cliché for a good reason, because it works for so many bands."

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

They put out another album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group to concentrate 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 created The Grid, who combined dance music with melodic sounds over a long-lasting collaboration.

Reunions and Final Projects

Soft Cell came back together in 2001, releasing the Top 40 album Cruelty Without Beauty.

Following another 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 final performance at the O2 Arena on 30 September, that year.

However, they stayed together, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.

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

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

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

"Our latest tracks are a electronic representation of the noises in my mind from those days.

"In parallel, it's about the experiences me and Marc had in the 1980s."

The final mixes were finished only a short time before Ball died. It is due for release in the spring of 2026.