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Dave Ball, one half of the innovative 1980s electronic music duo 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' Tainted Love in 1984, and their first record their initial full-length release is considered a seminal work of electronic music.

He subsequently founded the innovative techno group The Grid, who achieved chart success with their 1994 single 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 performing a headline show 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 period of ill-health.

"I managed to injure myself quite a bit," he commented in 2023. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my spine and cracked about five ribs and broke my wrist."

Following contracting pneumonia and developing blood poisoning, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and stayed in hospital for half a year.

However, he had been in "high spirits emotionally" over the summer, as he was developing 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 actually finished only a few days ago," stated the singer in a tribute.

"It's so sad as next year was completely planned to be such an positive year for him, and I find comfort from the knowledge that he listened to the finished record and felt that it was a masterpiece."

Tributes

Almond referred to his collaborator as "an exceptionally talented musical genius", adding: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our body of work.

"Many thanks Dave for being an immense part of my existence and for the music you gave me. I couldn't be where I am without you."

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

"Forming a partnership with someone is different from being in a group, the bond is incredibly close," he added.

"That was the case with us. We went through so many extraordinary, incredible, memorable experiences as a team. Many thanks, Dave."

Formative Years

Born into a single-parent household in Chester in the late 50s, Ball was put up for adoption when he was 18 months old.

He grew up in Blackpool with his new family his caregivers, who changed his given name from Paul to David, alongside his younger sister his sister, who was also adopted.

He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both learning art. Inspired by a shared love of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the very year, and quickly recorded an EP.

Creative Collaboration

The duo were an distinctive pairing: Ball was the reserved technician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all glitter and makeup; but they attained a rare musical alchemy.

Ball had developed a fascination with electronic instruments after viewing Kraftwerk perform on a television science show Tomorrow's World, and started to marry dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.

Their signature song became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling song of the early 80s, selling millions of units globally. Alongside hits by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it contributed to cleared the way for the electronic music style of the 80s.

The track was also featured on their full-length debut, their initial LP, which produced two additional high-charting hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.

They followed the album up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which reached at the second position in 1982.

Career Highlights

Success had its benefits. "I loved being able to afford my first home, having financial security and exploring, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball recently shared with a music magazine.

But it also presented challenges. "Sudden riches meant we could afford substances to relieve the boredom" of media interviews and television shows, Ball said.

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

Amidst the hedonistic lifestyle, the duo were also growing distant, but they succeeded to produce a follow-up classic album - the unconventional, edgy and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.

They put out one more album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the band to concentrate on other projects.

Almond proceeded to have a successful solo career, featuring the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who mixed dance music with melodic sounds over a enduring partnership.

Reunions and Final Projects

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

After a further hiatus, they returned in 2018, issuing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was intended to be a final performance at the large venue on September 30, that year.

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

Ball lately characterized the duo's upcoming release as a tribute to the NYC nightlife they visited while making their first two albums.

He added that his period in hospital had influenced the group's music.

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

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

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

The last versions were completed only a short time before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for release in the spring of 2026.