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Dave Ball, one half of the pioneering 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.

Alongside singer Marc Almond, the team achieved a worldwide hit with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their debut album their initial full-length release is regarded as a classic of electronic music.

He subsequently formed the pioneering techno group The Grid, who achieved popular acclaim with their 1994 single Swamp Thing.

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

Health Struggles

During that performance, Ball appeared in a wheelchair, as he had for the previous couple of years, after a spate of ill-health.

"I ended up damage myself quite a bit," he stated in 2023. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my back and cracked about multiple ribs and fractured my arm."

Following catching pneumonia and suffering from blood poisoning, he was placed in an induced coma and stayed in the hospital for half a year.

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

"He was concentrated and very pleased with the new album that we actually finished 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 positive year for him, and I take some solace from the fact that he heard the completed album and believed that it was a masterpiece."

Heartfelt Messages

Almond referred to his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant musical genius", stating: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our legacy.

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

His Grid bandmate from The Grid, also paid tribute, remembering Ball's "constant humor" and "unwavering friendship".

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

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

Formative Years

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

He was raised in Blackpool with adoptive parents his caregivers, who changed his given name from his birth name to his adopted name, together with his sibling Susan, who was also adopted.

He met Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both learning fine arts. Fuelled by a shared love of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the same year, and quickly recorded an extended play.

Creative Collaboration

The duo were an distinctive combination: Ball was the quiet technician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they achieved a rare musical alchemy.

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

Their signature song became the United Kingdom's second most popular song of 1981, selling 21 million copies globally. Alongside successful tracks by Gary Numan, Human League and Ultravox, it contributed to cleared the way for the synth-pop sound of the 80s.

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

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

Professional Journey

Success had its benefits. "I enjoyed being able to purchase my initial property, having financial security and exploring, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball recently told with a music magazine.

But it also caused problems. "Sudden riches allowed we could purchase newfound drugs to alleviate the monotony" of press appearances 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."

During the party-filled existence, the duo were also drifting apart, but they managed to produce a follow-up memorable record - the wayward, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.

They put out one more LP, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group 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 mixed dance music with melodic sounds over a enduring collaboration.

Later Work and Comebacks

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

After a further break, they reappeared in recent years, issuing 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 30 September, 2018.

Yet, they remained active, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.

Ball lately described the band's new album as a homage to the New York club scene they frequented while making their first two albums.

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

"I had strange recollections when I was coming and going of the hospital because I was on pain medication," he told a music magazine.

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

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

The final mixes were finished only days before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for launch in Spring 2026.