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

Alongside singer Marc Almond, the duo achieved a worldwide hit with their version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record their initial full-length release is considered a classic of synth-pop.

He later founded the innovative techno group The Grid, who achieved popular acclaim with 1994's Swamp Thing.

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

Recent Health Challenges

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

"I ended up damage myself quite a bit," he stated in 2023. "I broke spinal bones in my spine and fractured about five ribs and fractured my wrist."

Following contracting pneumonia and developing blood poisoning, he was put in an induced coma and remained in the hospital for seven months.

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

"He was focused and very pleased with the latest project that we literally completed only a few days ago," said the singer in a tribute.

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

Heartfelt Messages

Almond described his bandmate as "an exceptionally talented musical genius", stating: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our body of work.

"Thank you Dave for being an immense aspect of my life and for the music you created with me. I wouldn't be where I am without you."

His Grid bandmate from The Grid, shared his condolences, recalling Ball's "endless laughter" and "steadfast support".

"Being in a duo with someone is different from being in a group, the bond is incredibly close," he continued.

"That's how it was with us. We experienced so many remarkable, extraordinary, life-affirming experiences as a team. Thank you, Dave."

Early Life

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 the seaside town with his new family Donald and Brenda Ball, who altered his given name from Paul to David, together with his sibling his sister, who was similarly welcomed.

He met Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in the late 70s, where they were both studying fine arts. Fuelled by a mutual passion of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the very year, and quickly recorded an EP.

Musical Partnership

The duo were an unusual pairing: 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 musical alchemy.

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

Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second most popular single of 1981, shifting millions of units worldwide. Together with successful tracks by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it contributed to paved the way for the synth-pop sound of the 80s.

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

They continued the album up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which peaked at the second position in the following year.

Professional Journey

Success had its benefits. "I enjoyed being able to afford my first home, having financial security and travelling, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball not long ago shared with a publication.

But it also caused problems. "Newfound wealth meant we could afford newfound drugs to relieve the monotony" of press appearances and television shows, Ball said.

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

Amidst the hedonistic lifestyle, the pair were also drifting apart, but they managed to produce a second memorable record - the wayward, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.

They put out another album, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the band to focus on individual endeavors.

Almond went on to have a successful solo career, featuring the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who combined acid house with melodic sounds over a long-lasting collaboration.

Reunions and Final Projects

Soft Cell reunited in 2001, producing the charting album Cruelty Without Beauty.

After a further break, they returned in recent years, issuing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was supposed to be a farewell show at the large venue on 30 September, that year.

However, they remained together, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.

Ball lately characterized the duo's new album as a tribute to the New York club scene they visited while making their initial records.

He noted that his period in medical care had shaped the group's music.

"I experienced unusual memories when I was coming and going of the hospital because I was on morphine," he told a publication.

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

"In parallel, it's about the experiences we got up to in the 80s."

The last versions were completed only a short time before Ball passed away. It is due for release in Spring 2026.