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Dave Ball, a key member of the groundbreaking 1980s synth-pop band Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.

Alongside vocalist Marc Almond, the team achieved 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 regarded as a classic of electronic music.

He subsequently founded the pioneering techno group The Grid, who achieved chart success with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.

Ball passed away calmly 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 Henley-on-Thames.

Health Struggles

During that performance, Ball performed in a mobility chair, as he had for the last two years, after a spate of health issues.

"I ended up injure myself significantly," he commented in a recent interview. "I broke spinal bones in my back and cracked about five ribs and broke my arm."

After catching a lung infection and developing sepsis, he was placed in an induced coma and remained in the hospital for half a year.

However, he had been in "high spirits mentally" during the summer, as he worked on a new album with Almond, called the upcoming Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication next year.

"He was concentrated and so happy with the new album that we literally finished only a few days ago," stated the singer in a heartfelt message.

"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was all set to be such an uplifting time for him, and I find comfort from the knowledge that he heard the finished record and felt that it was a masterpiece."

Tributes

Almond described his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", adding: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our legacy.

"Thank you Dave for being an immense part of my existence and for the songs you gave me. I wouldn't be where I am without your influence."

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

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

"That was the case with us. We went through so many extraordinary, extraordinary, life-affirming experiences as a team. Thank you, Dave."

Early Life

Born into a single-parent household in 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 the seaside town with his new family Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his first name from his birth name to his adopted name, alongside his sibling his sister, who was similarly welcomed.

He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in the late 70s, where they were both studying fine arts. Inspired by a mutual passion of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and quickly recorded an EP.

Creative Collaboration

The duo were an unusual combination: Ball was the quiet technician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all sparkle and makeup; but they attained a unique musical alchemy.

Ball had developed a fascination with electronic instruments after viewing Kraftwerk appear on BBC program Tomorrow's World, and began to combine dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.

Their signature song became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling single of the early 80s, selling 21 million units worldwide. Alongside successful tracks by Gary Numan, Human League and electronic acts, it helped cleared the way for the synth-pop sound of the 80s.

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

They followed the record up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which reached at number two in 1982.

Career Highlights

Success had its benefits. "I enjoyed being able to purchase my initial property, having financial security and travelling, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball not long ago shared with a music magazine.

But it also presented challenges. "Newfound wealth allowed we could afford newfound drugs to alleviate the monotony" of media interviews and TV performances, Ball said.

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

During the hedonistic lifestyle, the duo were also growing distant, but they managed to create a second classic album - the wayward, edgy and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.

They released another LP, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the group to concentrate on other projects.

Almond went on to have a successful solo career, featuring the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who combined acid house with melodic sounds over a long-lasting collaboration.

Reunions and Final Projects

Soft Cell came back together in 2001, releasing the charting record Cruelty Without Beauty.

Following another hiatus, they returned in 2018, releasing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was supposed to be a final performance at the O2 Arena on 30 September, that year.

Yet, they stayed together, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.

Ball recently characterized the band's new album as a homage to the New York club scene they visited while making their initial records.

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

"I had strange recollections when I was in and out of hospital because I was on pain medication," he told a music magazine.

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

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

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