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The talented musician, a key member of the pioneering 1980s synth-pop band Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.

Alongside vocalist Marc Almond, the duo scored a worldwide hit with their cover of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a classic of electronic music.

He subsequently founded the innovative electronic act The Grid, who achieved chart success 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 performing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in the Thames-side town.

Health Struggles

At that performance, Ball performed in a mobility chair, as he had for the previous couple of years, following a period of health issues.

"I managed to damage myself significantly," he stated in 2023. "I broke spinal bones in my spine and fractured about five ribs and broke my arm."

After contracting a lung infection and suffering from sepsis, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and remained in hospital for half a year.

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

"He was concentrated and very pleased with the latest project that we actually completed only a short time ago," said the singer in a tribute.

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

Heartfelt Messages

Almond referred to his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", stating: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our legacy.

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

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

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

"That's how it was with us. We went through so many remarkable, incredible, life-affirming moments together. Thank you, Dave."

Early Life

Brought into the world into a single-parent household in the city of Chester in 1959, Ball was given up for adoption when he was a year and a half old.

He was raised in Blackpool with adoptive parents his caregivers, who changed his first name from Paul to David, alongside his younger sister his sister, who was also adopted.

He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both studying art. Fuelled by a mutual passion of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the same year, and quickly recorded an extended play.

Musical Partnership

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

Ball had developed a fascination with electronic instruments after viewing the band Kraftwerk perform on a television program Tomorrow's World, and started to combine moody electronic sounds to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.

Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling song of the early 80s, selling millions of units worldwide. Together with hits by other artists, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it helped paved the path for the electronic music style of the 80s.

The track was also featured on their full-length debut, their initial LP, which produced two additional high-charting hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.

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

Professional Journey

Success had its upsides. "I loved being able to afford my first home, having financial security and travelling, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball not long ago told with a music magazine.

But it also presented problems. "Newfound wealth meant we could purchase newfound drugs to alleviate the boredom" of press appearances and television shows, Ball explained.

"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a valid cause, because it works for so many musicians."

During the hedonistic lifestyle, the duo were also drifting apart, but they managed to produce a follow-up memorable record - the unconventional, edgy and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.

They put out one more album, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group to concentrate on individual endeavors.

Almond proceeded to have a successful individual path, including the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who combined acid house with ambient pop over a enduring collaboration.

Reunions and Final Projects

Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, releasing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.

Following another break, they returned in 2018, 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.

However, they remained active, recording their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.

Ball lately described the duo's upcoming release as a tribute to the NYC nightlife they frequented while making their initial records.

He added that his time in medical care had shaped the group's music.

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

"Our latest tracks are a electronic representation of the noises in my mind from that time.

"In parallel, it's about the times me and Marc had in the 1980s."

The final mixes were completed only a short time before Ball passed away. It is due for launch in Spring 2026.