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Dave Ball, a key member of the innovative 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.

Alongside singer Marc Almond, the pair scored a global success with their version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record their initial full-length release is regarded as a seminal work of electronic music.

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

Ball passed away calmly in his sleep at his residence in London on Wednesday 22 October, only a short time after performing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in Henley-on-Thames.

Health Struggles

During that show, Ball appeared in a wheelchair, as he had for the previous couple of years, following a period of ill-health.

"I ended up damage myself quite a bit," he stated in a recent interview. "I fractured spinal bones in my spine and fractured about five ribs and broke my wrist."

After contracting pneumonia and suffering from sepsis, he was put in an induced coma and remained in the hospital for seven months.

However, he had been in "a great place mentally" over the warmer months, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, called the upcoming Danceteria, which is set for release in the coming year.

"He was focused and so happy with the new album that we actually finished only a short time ago," said 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 take some solace from the fact that he listened to the completed album and felt that it was a masterpiece."

Tributes

Almond referred to his bandmate as "an exceptionally talented musical genius", adding: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our legacy.

"Thank you Dave for being an significant aspect of my life and for the music you gave me. I couldn't be where I am without you."

His Grid bandmate from The Grid, shared his condolences, remembering 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's how it was with us. We experienced so many remarkable, extraordinary, life-affirming moments together. Many thanks, Dave."

Formative Years

Brought into the world into a single-parent household in Chester in 1959, Ball was put up for adoption when he was 18 months old.

He was raised in the seaside town with his new family Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his first name from Paul to his adopted name, alongside his sibling Susan, who was also adopted.

He met Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in the late 70s, where they were both learning art. Fuelled by a shared love of Northern Soul, they established Soft Cell the same year, and promptly produced an EP.

Musical Partnership

The duo were an distinctive combination: Ball was the reserved musician, hunched over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant showman, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they attained a unique musical alchemy.

Ball had developed a fascination with synthesizers after watching the band Kraftwerk perform on a television science show Tomorrow's World, and started to marry dark electronica to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.

Their signature song became the UK's second biggest-selling single of the early 80s, selling millions of copies worldwide. Alongside successful tracks by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it helped cleared the path for the electronic music style of the 1980s.

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

They followed the album up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which reached at number two in 1982.

Career Highlights

Success had its upsides. "I loved being able to purchase my initial property, having money and travelling, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball not long ago shared with a music magazine.

But it also caused challenges. "Sudden riches meant we could afford newfound drugs to relieve the monotony" of media interviews and television shows, Ball explained.

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

Amidst the hedonistic lifestyle, the duo were also growing distant, but they succeeded to produce a second memorable record - the wayward, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.

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

Almond went on to have a successful individual path, featuring the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who mixed acid house with ambient pop over a enduring partnership.

Reunions and Final Projects

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

Following another hiatus, they returned in recent years, releasing the original singles 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.

However, they stayed active, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.

Ball recently described the duo's new album 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 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 publication.

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

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

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