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

Alongside singer Marc Almond, the team scored a global success with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in 1984, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a classic of synth-pop.

He subsequently founded the innovative techno group The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with their 1994 single Swamp Thing.

Ball passed away peacefully in his rest at his residence in London on Wednesday 22 October, only a short time after playing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in Henley-on-Thames.

Health Struggles

During that show, Ball performed in a wheelchair, as he had for the last two years, after a spate of ill-health.

"I managed to damage myself quite a bit," he stated in a recent interview. "I broke spinal bones in my back and fractured about multiple ribs and fractured my wrist."

Following contracting pneumonia and developing blood poisoning, he was placed in an induced coma and remained in hospital for seven months.

Nevertheless, he had been in "a great place emotionally" during the warmer months, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, titled the upcoming Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication in the coming year.

"He was concentrated and so happy with the new album that we actually finished only a few days ago," said 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 fact that he heard the completed album and believed that it was a great piece of work."

Tributes

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

"Thank you Dave for being an immense part of my life and for the songs you created with me. I wouldn't be where I am without you."

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

"Forming a duo with someone is distinct from joining a band, the connection is very tight," he added.

"That was the case with us. We went through so many remarkable, extraordinary, life-affirming moments together. Thank you, Dave."

Formative Years

Brought into the world into a one-parent family in the city of 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 his caregivers, who altered his given name from Paul to his adopted name, together with his younger sister Susan, who was similarly welcomed.

He met Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both studying art. Inspired by a shared love 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 technician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all sparkle and makeup; but they attained a rare musical alchemy.

Ball had cultivated a interest with synthesizers after watching the band Kraftwerk perform on BBC science show a popular series, and started to marry moody electronic sounds to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.

Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling single of 1981, selling 21 million copies globally. Alongside successful tracks by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it helped paved the way for the electronic music style of the 1980s.

The track was also featured on their first album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which spawned two further high-charting hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.

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

Career Highlights

Fame had its upsides. "I loved being able to purchase my first home, having money and exploring, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball not long ago shared with a music magazine.

But it also caused challenges. "Newfound wealth allowed we could afford substances to relieve the boredom" of media interviews and television shows, Ball explained.

"I realize that's a common saying, but it's a truism for a good reason, because it applies for so many musicians."

Amidst the party-filled existence, the duo were also growing distant, but they succeeded to create a follow-up memorable record - the unconventional, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.

They put out one more LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group to concentrate 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 formed The Grid, who mixed acid house with melodic sounds over a long-lasting partnership.

Later Work and Comebacks

Soft Cell came back together in the early 2000s, releasing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.

Following a further break, they reappeared in recent years, issuing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was intended to be a final performance at the large venue on September 30, that year.

However, they remained together, recording their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.

Ball lately described the duo's upcoming release as a tribute to the New York club scene they visited while recording their initial records.

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

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

"Our latest tracks are a digital reflection of the sounds in my head from those days.

"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences me and Marc had in the 1980s."

The last versions were finished only a short time before Ball died. It is due for release in the spring of 2026.