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The talented musician, one half of the innovative 1980s synth-pop duo Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.

Alongside vocalist Marc Almond, the pair scored a global success 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 seminal work of electronic music.

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

Ball passed away peacefully in his rest at his home in London on October 22, just weeks after playing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in the Thames-side town.

Health Struggles

At that performance, Ball performed in a mobility chair, as he had for the previous couple of years, following a period of health issues.

"I managed to damage myself quite a bit," he stated in 2023. "I broke lower vertebrae in my spine and fractured about multiple ribs and fractured my wrist."

Following catching a lung infection and suffering from sepsis, he was placed in an medically-induced sleep and remained in the hospital for half a year.

Nevertheless, he had been in "a great place mentally" over the summer, as he was developing a fresh record with Almond, titled the upcoming Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication next year.

"He was focused and so happy with the new album that we actually finished only a short time ago," stated the vocalist in a tribute.

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

Heartfelt Messages

Almond described his collaborator as "an exceptionally talented musical genius", adding: "He was the core essence 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 created with me. I couldn't be where I am without your influence."

His Grid bandmate from The Grid, also paid tribute, remembering Ball's "constant humor" and "unwavering friendship".

"Forming a duo 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 remarkable, incredible, life-affirming experiences together. Thank you, Dave."

Formative Years

Born into a one-parent family in the city of Chester in 1959, Ball was given up for adoption when he was a year and a half of age.

He was raised in Blackpool with his new family his caregivers, who altered his first name from his birth name to David, together with his younger sister his sister, who was also adopted.

He met Almond at an art college in the late 70s, where they were both learning art. Inspired by a shared love of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and promptly produced an EP.

Creative Collaboration

The duo were an distinctive pairing: Ball was the quiet technician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant showman, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they achieved a unique creative synergy.

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

Tainted Love became the UK's second most popular song of 1981, shifting millions of copies worldwide. Together with successful tracks by other artists, Human League and Ultravox, it helped cleared the path for the electronic music style of the 1980s.

The track was also featured on their first album, their initial LP, which produced two additional top five singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.

They followed the album up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at number two in the following year.

Career Highlights

Success had its upsides. "I loved being able to purchase my initial property, having money and travelling, which makes me sound like a Miss World," Ball recently shared with a music magazine.

But it also caused challenges. "Sudden riches meant we could purchase newfound drugs to relieve the boredom" of press appearances and television shows, Ball explained.

"I know that's a common saying, but it's a truism for a valid cause, because it applies for so many musicians."

During the party-filled existence, the pair were also growing distant, but they managed to produce a follow-up classic album - the unconventional, 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 individual endeavors.

Almond went on 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 acid house with ambient pop over a enduring collaboration.

Later Work and Comebacks

Soft Cell reunited in 2001, producing the charting record Cruelty Without Beauty.

Following a further 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 30 September, that year.

However, they remained active, recording their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.

Ball recently characterized the duo's upcoming release as a homage to the New York club scene they visited while recording their first two albums.

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

"I experienced unusual memories when I was coming and going of the hospital because I was on pain medication," he explained to a publication.

"The new songs are a digital reflection of the noises in my head from those days.

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

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