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

Together with singer Marc Almond, the duo achieved a global success with their cover of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a classic of synth-pop.

He subsequently founded the pioneering electronic act The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with their 1994 single Swamp Thing.

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

Health Struggles

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

"I ended up injure myself significantly," he commented in a recent interview. "I broke spinal bones in my back and fractured about five ribs and broke my wrist."

After contracting pneumonia and developing sepsis, he was put in an induced coma and stayed in the hospital for half a year.

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

"He was focused and so happy with the latest project that we literally completed only a short time ago," stated the singer in a heartfelt message.

"It's truly heartbreaking as 2026 was completely planned to be such an uplifting time for him, and I find comfort from the knowledge that he heard the completed album and felt that it was a masterpiece."

Heartfelt Messages

Almond described his collaborator as "an exceptionally talented creative mastermind", stating: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our legacy.

"Thank you Dave for being an significant aspect of my existence 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".

"Forming a partnership with someone is different from joining a group, the bond is incredibly close," he added.

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

Formative Years

Born into a one-parent family 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 the seaside town with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his given name from his birth name to David, together with his younger sister his sister, who was also adopted.

He met Almond at an art college in the late 70s, where they were both studying fine arts. Fuelled by a shared love of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the very year, and promptly recorded an EP.

Creative Collaboration

The pair were an distinctive pairing: Ball was the reserved musician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they attained a unique creative synergy.

Ball had developed a interest with synthesizers after viewing Kraftwerk appear on BBC program Tomorrow's World, and began to combine moody electronic sounds to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.

Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second most popular song of 1981, shifting millions of units worldwide. Together with successful tracks by Gary Numan, Human League and electronic acts, it helped paved the path for the synth-pop sound of the 80s.

The song was also featured on their full-length debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which produced 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 the second position in 1982.

Professional Journey

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

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

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

During the party-filled existence, the pair were also drifting apart, but they managed to create a second classic album - the unconventional, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.

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

Almond proceeded to have a successful solo career, including the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who combined dance music with ambient pop over a long-lasting partnership.

Reunions and Final Projects

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

After a further hiatus, they returned in 2018, issuing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was supposed to be a final performance at the O2 Arena on 30 September, that year.

However, they stayed active, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.

Ball recently described the duo's new album as a tribute to the New York club scene they visited while recording their initial records.

He added that his time in hospital had shaped the band's sound.

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

"The new songs are a electronic representation of the sounds in my head from that time.

"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences me and Marc got up to in the 1980s."

The last versions were completed only a short time before Ball died. It is scheduled for release in the spring of 2026.