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

Together with singer Marc Almond, the team scored a worldwide hit with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their debut album their initial full-length release is considered a classic of synth-pop.

He subsequently founded the innovative electronic act The Grid, who secured chart success with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.

Ball passed away peacefully in his sleep at his residence in London on October 22, only a short time after playing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in Henley-on-Thames.

Health Struggles

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

"I ended up injure myself quite a bit," he commented in 2023. "I broke lower vertebrae in my back and fractured about five ribs and fractured my wrist."

After contracting pneumonia and suffering from blood poisoning, he was placed in an medically-induced sleep and stayed in hospital for half a year.

Nevertheless, he had been in "high spirits mentally" over the warmer months, as he was developing a fresh record with Almond, titled the upcoming Danceteria, which is scheduled for release in the coming year.

"He was concentrated and so happy with the latest project that we actually completed only a few days ago," said the vocalist in a heartfelt message.

"It's so sad as next year was completely planned to be such an positive year 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 musical genius", stating: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our body of work.

"Many thanks Dave for being an immense part of my life and for the songs you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without you."

His Grid bandmate from The Grid, also paid tribute, recalling Ball's "constant humor" and "unwavering friendship".

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

"That was the case with us. We experienced so many extraordinary, extraordinary, life-affirming experiences together. Many thanks, Dave."

Early Life

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

He grew up in the seaside town with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who altered his given name from his birth name to David, together with his younger sister Susan, who was also adopted.

He met Almond at an art college in the late 70s, where they were both studying art. Inspired by a mutual passion of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and promptly produced an EP.

Creative Collaboration

The pair were an distinctive pairing: Ball was the quiet technician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a charismatic showman, all glitter and makeup; but they achieved a rare creative synergy.

Ball had developed a interest with synthesizers after viewing the band Kraftwerk perform on a television science show a popular series, and started to marry moody electronic sounds to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.

Their signature song became the UK's second biggest-selling song of 1981, selling 21 million copies globally. Together with successful tracks by Gary Numan, Human League and electronic acts, it contributed to paved the way for the electronic music style of the 1980s.

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

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

Career Highlights

Fame had its benefits. "I loved being able to afford my initial property, having money and travelling, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball not long ago shared with a music magazine.

But it also caused challenges. "Newfound wealth meant we could purchase newfound drugs to alleviate the boredom" of media interviews and TV performances, Ball said.

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

During the hedonistic lifestyle, the duo were also drifting apart, but they managed to create a follow-up classic album - the wayward, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.

They released another album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group to concentrate on other projects.

Almond proceeded to have a successful solo career, featuring the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who combined dance music with melodic sounds over a enduring collaboration.

Reunions and Final Projects

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

Following another hiatus, they reappeared in recent years, releasing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was intended to be a farewell show at the O2 Arena on 30 September, 2018.

However, they stayed together, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.

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

He noted that his period in hospital had influenced the group's music.

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

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

"Simultaneously, it's about the times me and Marc got up to in the 80s."

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