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

Alongside vocalist Marc Almond, the team achieved a global success with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in 1984, and their first record their initial full-length release is considered 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 died calmly in his rest at his home in London on Wednesday 22 October, just weeks after performing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in Henley-on-Thames.

Recent Health Challenges

During that show, Ball performed in a mobility chair, as he had for the last two years, after a spate of health issues.

"I managed to injure myself significantly," he stated in a recent interview. "I broke spinal bones in my spine and fractured about five ribs and fractured my wrist."

Following contracting a lung infection and suffering from sepsis, he was placed in an induced coma and remained in the hospital for seven months.

However, he had been in "a great place emotionally" during the warmer months, as he was developing a new album with Almond, called the upcoming Danceteria, which is set for publication in the coming year.

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

"It's so sad 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 completed album and felt that it was a masterpiece."

Tributes

Almond described his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant musical genius", adding: "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 aspect of my existence and for the music you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without you."

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

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

"That's how it was with us. We went through so many remarkable, incredible, memorable moments together. Many thanks, Dave."

Formative Years

Brought into the world into a single-parent household 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 the seaside town with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his first name from Paul to his adopted name, alongside his younger sister his sister, who was also adopted.

He met Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both learning art. Fuelled by a mutual passion of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the very year, and promptly recorded an EP.

Creative Collaboration

The duo were an unusual combination: Ball was the quiet technician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a charismatic showman, all sparkle and makeup; but they achieved a rare creative synergy.

Ball had cultivated a fascination with electronic instruments after watching the band Kraftwerk appear on a television program Tomorrow's World, and began to marry moody electronic sounds to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.

Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second most popular song of the early 80s, selling millions of copies worldwide. Alongside hits by Gary Numan, Human League and electronic acts, it contributed to paved the path for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.

The song was also featured on their full-length debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which spawned two additional top five hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.

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

Career Highlights

Fame had its upsides. "I loved being able to afford my first home, having money and exploring, which makes me sound like a Miss World," Ball recently shared with a publication.

But it also presented problems. "Newfound wealth meant we could afford newfound drugs to alleviate the boredom" of press appearances and television shows, Ball said.

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

During the party-filled existence, the pair were also growing distant, but they managed to create a follow-up classic album - the wayward, edgy and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.

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

Almond went on to have a prosperous 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 enduring collaboration.

Reunions and Final Projects

Soft Cell came back together in 2001, releasing the Top 40 album Cruelty Without Beauty.

Following a further break, they reappeared in recent years, releasing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was supposed to be a final performance at the O2 Arena on September 30, that year.

Yet, they remained together, creating 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 first two albums.

He added that his period in medical care had influenced the band's sound.

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

"Our latest tracks are a digital reflection of the noises in my mind from that time.

"In parallel, it's about the experiences we had in the 1980s."

The last versions were finished only days before Ball died. It is scheduled for release in Spring 2026.