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Dave Ball, one half of the innovative 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.

Alongside vocalist Marc Almond, the team scored a global success with their version of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in 1984, and their first record their initial full-length release is considered a classic of synth-pop.

He later formed the innovative electronic act The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with their 1994 single Swamp Thing.

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

Recent Health Challenges

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

"I ended up injure myself quite a bit," he commented in a recent interview. "I broke lower vertebrae in my spine and fractured about five ribs and broke my arm."

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

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

"He was concentrated and so happy with the latest project that we actually finished only a few days ago," stated the singer in a tribute.

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

Heartfelt Messages

Almond described his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant 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 music you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without your influence."

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

"Being in a partnership with someone is different from being in a group, the connection is very tight," he added.

"That's how it was with us. We experienced so many remarkable, incredible, memorable experiences as a team. Many thanks, Dave."

Formative Years

Born into a single-parent household in the city of Chester in the late 50s, Ball was given up for adoption when he was 18 months old.

He grew up in Blackpool with adoptive parents his caregivers, who altered his first name from Paul to his adopted name, alongside his younger sister Susan, who was also adopted.

He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in the late 70s, where they were both studying fine arts. Inspired by a mutual passion 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 flamboyant performer, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they attained a unique creative synergy.

Ball had developed a fascination with synthesizers after watching Kraftwerk appear on BBC program a popular series, and began to marry moody electronic sounds to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.

Tainted Love became the UK's second biggest-selling song of the early 80s, shifting millions of units globally. Together with successful tracks by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it contributed to paved the path for the synth-pop sound of the 80s.

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

They continued the record up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which peaked at number two in the following year.

Career Highlights

Fame had its benefits. "I enjoyed being able to afford my first home, having money and travelling, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball not long ago told with a publication.

But it also presented challenges. "Sudden riches allowed we could afford newfound drugs to alleviate the boredom" of press appearances and TV performances, Ball said.

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

During the party-filled existence, the duo were also growing distant, but they succeeded to create a second memorable record - the wayward, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.

They put out another LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the band to focus on other projects.

Almond proceeded to have a successful individual path, featuring the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who combined dance music with melodic sounds over a long-lasting collaboration.

Reunions and Final Projects

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

After another hiatus, they returned in recent years, issuing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was supposed to be a final performance at the large venue on September 30, that year.

However, they stayed active, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic restrictions.

Ball recently characterized the band's upcoming release as a tribute to the NYC nightlife they visited while recording their initial records.

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

"I had strange recollections when I was coming and going of the hospital because I was on morphine," he explained to a music magazine.

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

"Simultaneously, it's about the times we got up to in the 80s."

The final mixes were finished only a short time before Ball died. It is due for launch in the spring of 2026.