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

Alongside singer Marc Almond, the duo scored a global success with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in 1984, and their first record their initial full-length release is regarded as a classic of synth-pop.

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

Ball passed away peacefully in his rest at his home in London on Wednesday 22 October, just weeks after performing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in Henley-on-Thames.

Recent Health Challenges

During that show, Ball performed in a mobility chair, as he had for the previous couple of years, following a spate of health issues.

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

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

However, he had been in "high spirits mentally" during the summer, as he was developing a new album with Almond, called Danceteria, which is set for release next year.

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

"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was completely planned to be such an positive time for him, and I take some solace from the knowledge that he heard the finished record and felt that it was a great piece of work."

Heartfelt Messages

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

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

His Grid bandmate from The Grid, shared his condolences, remembering Ball's "constant humor" and "unwavering friendship".

"Being in a duo with someone is distinct from joining a band, the bond is incredibly close," he added.

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

Early Life

Born into a single-parent household in Chester in 1959, Ball was put up for adoption when he was 18 months old.

He was raised in the seaside town with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his given name from Paul to David, alongside his sibling Susan, who was also adopted.

He met Almond at an art college in the late 70s, where they were both studying art. Fuelled by a mutual passion of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the very year, and quickly produced an extended play.

Creative Collaboration

The pair were an unusual combination: Ball was the quiet musician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all glitter and makeup; but they attained a unique creative synergy.

Ball had cultivated a fascination with electronic instruments after watching the band Kraftwerk perform on a television program Tomorrow's World, and began to combine dark electronica to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.

Their signature song became the UK's second most popular single of 1981, selling millions of copies worldwide. Together with hits by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it helped cleared the path for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.

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

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

Career Highlights

Success had its upsides. "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 told with a music magazine.

But it also caused problems. "Newfound wealth allowed we could afford substances to alleviate the monotony" of press appearances and television shows, Ball said.

"I realize 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 managed to produce a second classic album - the wayward, edgy and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.

They put out another album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group to focus on individual endeavors.

Almond went on to have a prosperous 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 long-lasting partnership.

Later Work and Comebacks

Soft Cell came back together in 2001, producing the Top 40 album Cruelty Without Beauty.

After a further break, they returned in 2018, issuing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was intended to be a final performance at the large venue on September 30, that year.

However, they stayed active, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.

Ball lately characterized the band's upcoming release as a tribute to the NYC nightlife they visited while making their initial records.

He noted that his time in hospital had shaped the group's music.

"I experienced unusual memories when I was coming and going of the hospital because I was on pain medication," he explained to a publication.

"Our latest tracks are a digital reflection of the sounds in my head from that time.

"In parallel, it's about the times we got up to in the 1980s."

The last versions were finished only a short time before Ball died. It is scheduled for release in Spring 2026.