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

Together with vocalist Marc Almond, the pair scored a worldwide hit with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a classic of synth-pop.

He subsequently founded the innovative techno group The Grid, who achieved chart success with their 1994 single the hit Swamp Thing.

Ball died calmly in his sleep at his residence in London on Wednesday 22 October, only a short time after playing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in the Thames-side town.

Health Struggles

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

"I managed to injure myself significantly," he commented in 2023. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my back and fractured about five ribs and broke my arm."

After catching pneumonia and developing blood poisoning, he was placed in an medically-induced sleep and stayed in the hospital for seven months.

Nevertheless, he had been in "a great place mentally" during the summer, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, called Danceteria, which is set for publication in the coming year.

"He was concentrated and so happy with the latest project that we actually finished only a short time ago," said the vocalist in a heartfelt message.

"It's so sad as next year was all set to be such an uplifting year for him, and I take some solace from the knowledge that he heard the finished record and believed that it was a masterpiece."

Heartfelt Messages

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 legacy.

"Thank you Dave for being an immense part of my life 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, recalling Ball's "endless laughter" and "steadfast support".

"Being in a duo with someone is distinct from being in a band, the connection is incredibly close," he continued.

"That was the case with us. We experienced so many extraordinary, extraordinary, life-affirming moments together. Many thanks, Dave."

Early Life

Brought into the world into a single-parent household in the city of Chester in 1959, Ball was put up for adoption when he was a year and a half of age.

He was raised in the seaside town with adoptive parents his caregivers, who changed his first name from his birth name to David, together with his younger sister Susan, who was also adopted.

He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in the late 70s, where they were both learning fine arts. Inspired by a shared love of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the same year, and promptly produced an extended play.

Musical Partnership

The duo were an unusual combination: Ball was the quiet musician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they attained a unique creative synergy.

Ball had developed a fascination with electronic instruments after viewing the band Kraftwerk appear on BBC program Tomorrow's World, and started to marry moody electronic sounds to the catchy tunes Almond was composing.

Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second most popular single of the early 80s, selling millions of units globally. Together with successful tracks by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it helped paved the way for the synth-pop sound of the 80s.

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

They followed the record up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at the second position in the following year.

Career Highlights

Success had its upsides. "I enjoyed being able to afford my initial property, having money and exploring, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball recently shared with a music magazine.

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

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

Amidst the party-filled existence, the duo were also drifting apart, but they succeeded to produce a follow-up classic album - the unconventional, edgy and aptly-titled 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 individual endeavors.

Almond went on to have a successful solo career, featuring the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who mixed dance music with melodic sounds over a enduring partnership.

Later Work and Comebacks

Soft Cell came back together in 2001, producing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.

After another hiatus, they returned in 2018, 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, 2018.

Yet, they stayed together, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic restrictions.

Ball lately described the band's upcoming release as a homage to the New York club scene they frequented while recording their first two albums.

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

"I experienced strange recollections when I was in and out of hospital because I was on morphine," he told a music magazine.

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

"In parallel, it's about the times me and Marc had in the 1980s."

The final mixes were completed only days before Ball died. It is due for release in the spring of 2026.