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

Alongside singer Marc Almond, the team scored a worldwide hit with their cover of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in 1984, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a seminal work of electronic music.

He later founded the innovative techno group The Grid, who secured chart success with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.

Ball passed away calmly 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

At that performance, Ball performed in a wheelchair, as he had for the last two years, following a period of ill-health.

"I ended up injure myself quite a bit," he stated in 2023. "I fractured spinal bones in my back and cracked about five ribs and fractured my arm."

Following contracting pneumonia and suffering from blood poisoning, he was put in an induced coma and stayed in hospital for seven months.

Nevertheless, he had been in "a great place emotionally" over the warmer months, as he worked on a new album with Almond, called Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication in the coming year.

"He was concentrated and very pleased with the latest project that we actually finished only a few days ago," said the singer in a heartfelt message.

"It's so sad as next year was all set to be such an uplifting year 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."

Heartfelt Messages

Almond described his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant musical genius", adding: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our legacy.

"Thank you Dave for being an immense part of my existence and for the music you gave me. I wouldn't be where I am without your influence."

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

"Forming a partnership with someone is different from being in a group, the bond is very tight," he continued.

"That was the case with us. We experienced so many remarkable, incredible, life-affirming moments as a team. Thank you, Dave."

Formative Years

Born into a single-parent household in Chester in the late 50s, Ball was given up for adoption when he was a year and a half of age.

He was raised in Blackpool with his new family his caregivers, who changed his given name from Paul to his adopted name, alongside his sibling his sister, who was also adopted.

He met Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both studying fine arts. Fuelled by a mutual passion of Northern Soul, they formed Soft Cell the very year, and quickly produced an extended play.

Musical Partnership

The pair were an distinctive combination: Ball was the reserved technician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant showman, all sparkle and makeup; but they achieved a unique creative synergy.

Ball had cultivated a fascination with electronic instruments after watching the band Kraftwerk perform on a television program a popular series, and started to marry moody electronic sounds to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.

Their signature song became the UK's second biggest-selling single of 1981, selling 21 million copies worldwide. Together with hits by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it contributed to paved the way for the electronic music style of the 1980s.

The song was also included on their full-length debut, their initial LP, which spawned two further top five hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.

They followed the album up with the separate release, Torch, which peaked at the second position in the following year.

Career Highlights

Success had its benefits. "I enjoyed being able to purchase my first home, having money and exploring, which might seem like a beauty queen," Ball recently told with a music magazine.

But it also caused problems. "Sudden riches meant we could afford newfound drugs to alleviate the boredom" of media interviews and television shows, Ball said.

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

Amidst the party-filled existence, the duo were also growing distant, but they succeeded to produce a second memorable record - the unconventional, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.

They released another LP, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band to concentrate 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 mixed dance music with melodic sounds over a enduring partnership.

Later Work and Comebacks

Soft Cell came back together in 2001, releasing the charting album Cruelty Without Beauty.

Following another break, they reappeared in recent years, issuing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was intended to be a final performance at the large venue on 30 September, that year.

Yet, they stayed active, 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 visited while recording their initial records.

He added that his time in medical care had influenced the band's sound.

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

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

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

The final mixes were finished only days before Ball died. It is scheduled for release in the spring of 2026.