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The talented musician, one half of the innovative 1980s synth-pop duo Soft Cell, has passed away 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 debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a seminal work of electronic music.

He subsequently formed the pioneering techno group The Grid, who secured chart success with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.

Ball passed away calmly in his sleep at his home in London on October 22, just weeks after playing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in the Thames-side town.

Recent Health Challenges

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

"I ended up injure myself significantly," he stated in a recent interview. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my spine and fractured about multiple ribs and fractured my wrist."

After catching a lung infection and developing blood poisoning, he was placed in an induced coma and remained in hospital for half a year.

However, he had been in "a great place emotionally" during the summer, as he worked on a new album with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is set for release in the coming year.

"He was focused and very pleased with the new album that we actually finished only a short time ago," said the singer in a heartfelt message.

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

Heartfelt Messages

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

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

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

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

"That was the case with us. We experienced so many remarkable, extraordinary, memorable moments as a team. Thank you, Dave."

Early Life

Born 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 old.

He grew up in the seaside town with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who altered his first name from his birth name to David, together with his sibling his sister, who was similarly welcomed.

He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in the late 70s, where they were both learning fine arts. Fuelled by a mutual passion of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the very year, and promptly produced an EP.

Musical Partnership

The pair were an unusual combination: Ball was the reserved musician, hunched over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant showman, all glitter and eye-liner; but they achieved a rare creative synergy.

Ball had cultivated a fascination with electronic instruments after watching the band Kraftwerk perform on BBC program a popular series, 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, shifting 21 million units worldwide. Together with successful tracks by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it contributed to cleared the way for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.

The song was also included on their full-length debut, their initial LP, which spawned two additional high-charting hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.

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

Career Highlights

Success had its benefits. "I enjoyed being able to afford my first home, having financial security and travelling, which might seem like a beauty queen," Ball not long ago told with a music magazine.

But it also caused challenges. "Sudden riches meant we could purchase newfound drugs to relieve the boredom" of press appearances and television shows, Ball said.

"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a good reason, because it works for so many musicians."

During the hedonistic lifestyle, the duo were also drifting apart, but they succeeded to create a second classic album - the unconventional, edgy and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.

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

Almond proceeded to have a prosperous solo career, featuring the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who combined acid house with ambient pop over a enduring partnership.

Later Work and Comebacks

Soft Cell came back together in the early 2000s, releasing the charting album Cruelty Without Beauty.

Following a further break, they reappeared in recent years, releasing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was supposed to be a farewell show at the large venue on 30 September, 2018.

Yet, they remained together, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.

Ball recently characterized the band's new album as a tribute to the New York club scene they frequented while recording their first two albums.

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

"I experienced strange recollections when I was in and out of the hospital because I was on pain medication," he explained to a publication.

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

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

The final mixes were finished only days before Ball passed away. It is due for release in the spring of 2026.