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

Together with singer Marc Almond, the duo achieved a global success with their version 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 subsequently founded the pioneering techno group The Grid, who secured chart success with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.

Ball died peacefully in his rest at his residence in London on Wednesday 22 October, just weeks after performing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in Henley-on-Thames.

Health Struggles

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

"I ended up damage myself significantly," he commented in a recent interview. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my spine and cracked about five ribs and broke my wrist."

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

Nevertheless, he had been in "high spirits mentally" during the warmer months, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, titled the upcoming Danceteria, which is set for publication in the coming year.

"He was concentrated and very pleased with the latest project that we literally finished only a short time ago," said the singer in a tribute.

"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was completely planned to be such an uplifting time for him, and I take some solace from the fact that he heard the finished record and believed that it was a great piece of work."

Tributes

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

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

His Grid bandmate from The Grid, also paid tribute, remembering Ball's "endless laughter" and "steadfast support".

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

"That was the case with us. We experienced so many remarkable, incredible, life-affirming experiences together. Thank you, Dave."

Early Life

Born into a one-parent family in Chester in the late 50s, Ball was given up for adoption when he was a year and a half old.

He grew up in Blackpool with adoptive parents his caregivers, who changed his first name from his birth name to his adopted name, together with his younger sister Susan, who was also adopted.

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

Creative Collaboration

The duo were an unusual pairing: Ball was the quiet musician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a charismatic showman, all glitter and makeup; but they attained a rare musical alchemy.

Ball had cultivated a interest with synthesizers after watching Kraftwerk appear on a television program a popular series, and began to marry dark electronica to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.

Their signature song became the UK's second most popular single of the early 80s, selling 21 million copies worldwide. Alongside hits by other artists, Human League and electronic acts, it contributed to cleared the way for the electronic music style of the 1980s.

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

They followed the album up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which reached at number two in the following year.

Professional Journey

Success had its upsides. "I loved being able to purchase my first home, having financial security and travelling, which might seem like a beauty queen," Ball recently shared with a publication.

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

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

Amidst the party-filled existence, the duo were also growing distant, but they managed to produce a second classic album - the wayward, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.

They released another LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band to concentrate on individual endeavors.

Almond proceeded to have a successful individual path, including 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 reunited in the early 2000s, releasing the charting record Cruelty Without Beauty.

After another hiatus, they returned in recent years, releasing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was intended to be a final performance at the large venue on 30 September, that year.

However, they remained active, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic restrictions.

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

He noted that his time in medical care had shaped the band's sound.

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

"Our latest tracks are a digital reflection 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 passed away. It is scheduled for release in the spring of 2026.