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

Together with singer 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 debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a seminal work of electronic music.

He later formed the pioneering techno group The Grid, who achieved chart success with their 1994 single the hit Swamp Thing.

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

Recent Health Challenges

During that show, Ball performed in a wheelchair, 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 2023. "I broke spinal bones in my spine and cracked about multiple ribs and broke my wrist."

After catching a lung infection and suffering from sepsis, he was placed in an induced coma and stayed in hospital for seven months.

Nevertheless, he had been in "high spirits mentally" during the warmer months, as he worked on a new album with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is set for release in the coming year.

"He was focused and so happy with the new album that we actually finished only a short time ago," stated the vocalist in a tribute.

"It's truly heartbreaking as 2026 was all set to be such an positive time for him, and I take some solace from the knowledge that he listened to the completed album and believed that it was a masterpiece."

Heartfelt Messages

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

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

His Grid bandmate from The Grid, also paid tribute, remembering Ball's "endless laughter" and "unwavering friendship".

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

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

Formative Years

Brought into the world into a one-parent family in the city of Chester in 1959, 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 Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his given name from Paul to his adopted name, together with his younger sister Susan, who was also adopted.

He encountered Almond at an art college in the late 70s, where they were both learning art. Fuelled by a mutual passion of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and quickly recorded an extended play.

Creative Collaboration

The pair were an unusual combination: Ball was the quiet musician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all sparkle and makeup; but they attained a unique musical alchemy.

Ball had developed a fascination with synthesizers after viewing the band Kraftwerk appear on BBC science show Tomorrow's World, and began to marry moody electronic sounds to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.

Their signature song became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling single of 1981, shifting millions of copies worldwide. Together with hits by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it contributed to paved the way for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.

The track was also included on their first album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which produced two additional top five singles: 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

Fame had its benefits. "I loved being able to purchase my first home, having money and travelling, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball not long ago told with a music magazine.

But it also presented problems. "Newfound wealth allowed we could purchase substances to relieve the boredom" of press appearances and television shows, Ball explained.

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

During the party-filled existence, the pair were also drifting apart, but they managed to produce a second memorable record - the wayward, edgy 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 individual endeavors.

Almond proceeded to have a prosperous individual path, including the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who combined acid house with melodic sounds over a enduring partnership.

Reunions and Final Projects

Soft Cell came back together in the early 2000s, producing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.

After another 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 final performance at the O2 Arena on September 30, that year.

However, they stayed together, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.

Ball lately described the band's new album as a homage to the New York club scene they visited while recording their initial records.

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

"I had unusual memories when I was in and out of hospital because I was on pain medication," he told a publication.

"The new songs are a electronic representation of the sounds in my head from those days.

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

The final mixes were completed only days before Ball died. It is scheduled for release in Spring 2026.