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The talented musician, a key member of the pioneering 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.

Alongside vocalist Marc Almond, the team achieved a global success with their cover of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a classic of electronic music.

He subsequently formed the pioneering electronic act The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with 1994's 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 featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in Henley-on-Thames.

Health Struggles

During that performance, Ball appeared in a wheelchair, as he had for the previous couple of years, after a period of health issues.

"I ended up injure myself quite a bit," he stated in 2023. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my spine and fractured about multiple ribs and broke my wrist."

Following contracting pneumonia and developing sepsis, he was put in an induced coma and remained in the hospital for seven months.

However, he had been in "a great place emotionally" over the summer, as he worked on a new album with Almond, called Danceteria, which is set for publication next year.

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

"It's so sad as next year was all set to be such an positive year for him, and I take some solace from the knowledge that he listened to the completed album and felt that it was a great piece of work."

Heartfelt Messages

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

"Many thanks Dave for being an immense aspect of my life and for the songs you gave 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".

"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 went through so many remarkable, extraordinary, memorable experiences together. Thank you, 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 grew up in the seaside town with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his given name from Paul to David, together with his sibling Susan, who was also adopted.

He encountered 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 very year, and quickly produced an extended play.

Creative Collaboration

The pair were an distinctive pairing: Ball was the quiet musician, hunched over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all glitter and eye-liner; but they attained a unique creative synergy.

Ball had cultivated a fascination with electronic instruments after viewing Kraftwerk appear on a television science show Tomorrow's World, and started to combine dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.

Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling single of 1981, shifting millions of copies globally. Together with successful tracks by other artists, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it contributed to paved the path for the synth-pop sound of the 80s.

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

They followed the record up with the separate release, Torch, which peaked at the second position in 1982.

Career Highlights

Fame had its benefits. "I loved being able to afford my first home, having money and exploring, which might seem like a beauty queen," Ball not long ago told with a music magazine.

But it also caused challenges. "Sudden riches allowed we could afford 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 hedonistic lifestyle, the pair were also growing distant, but they managed to produce a follow-up memorable record - the wayward, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.

They released another album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group to focus on individual endeavors.

Almond proceeded to have a prosperous solo career, including 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 long-lasting partnership.

Reunions and Final Projects

Soft Cell reunited in 2001, releasing the Top 40 album Cruelty Without Beauty.

After another break, they returned in recent years, issuing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was supposed to be a final performance at the large venue on September 30, 2018.

However, they stayed active, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.

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

He added that his period in medical care had shaped the group's music.

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

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

"Simultaneously, it's about the times me and Marc got up to in the 1980s."

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