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The talented musician, one half of the innovative 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.

Alongside vocalist Marc Almond, the team achieved a global success with their version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their debut album their initial full-length release is considered a classic of electronic music.

He subsequently formed the pioneering electronic act The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.

Ball passed away peacefully in his rest at his home in London on Wednesday 22 October, just weeks after playing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in Henley-on-Thames.

Recent Health Challenges

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

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

After catching pneumonia and developing blood poisoning, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and remained in the hospital for seven months.

However, he had been in "high spirits emotionally" during the summer, as he worked on a new album with Almond, called the upcoming Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication in the coming year.

"He was concentrated and so happy with the new album that we literally completed 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 uplifting time for him, and I find comfort from the fact that he heard the finished record and believed that it was a great piece of work."

Tributes

Almond described his collaborator 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 songs you gave me. I couldn't be where I am without you."

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

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

"That was the case with us. We experienced so many extraordinary, incredible, life-affirming moments together. Thank you, Dave."

Formative Years

Brought into the world into a one-parent family in Chester in the late 50s, Ball was put up for adoption when he was 18 months of age.

He was raised in Blackpool with his new family Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his first name from his birth name to David, together with his younger sister Susan, who was also adopted.

He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both studying art. Inspired by a mutual passion of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the very year, and promptly produced an extended play.

Musical Partnership

The duo were an distinctive pairing: Ball was the reserved musician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a charismatic showman, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they achieved a rare creative synergy.

Ball had developed a fascination with electronic instruments after viewing the band Kraftwerk perform on a television program a popular series, and began to marry dark electronica to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.

Their signature song became the United Kingdom's second most popular single of the early 80s, shifting 21 million units globally. Together with hits by other artists, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it contributed to cleared the path for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.

The track was also included on their first album, their initial LP, which produced two additional high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.

They continued the album up with the separate release, Torch, which peaked at the second position in 1982.

Professional Journey

Success had its upsides. "I enjoyed being able to afford my initial property, having financial security and travelling, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball not long ago shared with a publication.

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

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

Amidst the party-filled existence, the duo were also growing distant, but they managed to create a follow-up classic album - the wayward, edgy and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.

They released one more LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band to focus on other projects.

Almond proceeded 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 mixed acid house with ambient pop over a enduring partnership.

Later Work and Comebacks

Soft Cell reunited in 2001, releasing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.

Following another hiatus, they returned in recent years, issuing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was supposed to be a farewell show at the O2 Arena on 30 September, 2018.

However, they stayed together, recording their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.

Ball lately characterized the band's upcoming release as a tribute to the New York club scene they frequented while making their first two albums.

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

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

"The new songs are a digital reflection of the noises in my mind from that time.

"In parallel, it's about the experiences we got up to in the 1980s."

The final mixes were completed only days before Ball died. It is due for release in Spring 2026.