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

Alongside singer Marc Almond, the team achieved a global success with their version of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their debut album 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 playing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in the Thames-side town.

Health Struggles

At that performance, Ball performed in a wheelchair, as he had for the previous couple of years, after a spate of health issues.

"I ended up damage myself significantly," he commented in 2023. "I broke lower vertebrae in my back and cracked about five ribs and broke my arm."

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

Nevertheless, he had been in "a great place emotionally" over the summer, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is set for release next year.

"He was concentrated and very pleased with the new album that we actually completed only a few days ago," said the singer in a tribute.

"It's truly heartbreaking as 2026 was completely planned to be such an positive time for him, and I take some solace from the fact that he heard the completed album and felt that it was a great piece of work."

Heartfelt Messages

Almond described his collaborator as "an exceptionally talented musical genius", adding: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our body of work.

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

Richard Norris from The Grid, shared his condolences, remembering Ball's "constant humor" and "steadfast support".

"Being in a partnership with someone is different from joining a band, the bond is incredibly close," he continued.

"That was the case with us. We went through so many extraordinary, extraordinary, memorable moments together. Thank you, Dave."

Formative Years

Born into a single-parent household in the city of 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 the seaside town with adoptive parents his caregivers, who altered his given name from Paul to David, alongside his younger sister his sister, who was similarly welcomed.

He met Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both studying art. Inspired by a mutual passion of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the very year, and promptly recorded an extended play.

Musical Partnership

The pair were an unusual pairing: Ball was the quiet technician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant showman, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they attained a unique musical alchemy.

Ball had developed a interest with electronic instruments after watching the band Kraftwerk perform on BBC program Tomorrow's World, and started to marry dark electronica to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.

Their signature song became the UK's second most popular single of the early 80s, selling 21 million copies worldwide. Alongside successful tracks by Gary Numan, Human League and electronic acts, it helped paved the path for the electronic music style of the 1980s.

The song was also featured on their first album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which produced two further top five singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.

They continued the record up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at number two in the following year.

Professional Journey

Fame had its upsides. "I enjoyed being able to purchase my first home, having money and travelling, which makes me sound like a Miss World," Ball not long ago told with a publication.

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

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

Amidst the hedonistic lifestyle, the pair were also drifting apart, but they succeeded to create a follow-up classic album - the unconventional, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.

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

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

Later Work and Comebacks

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

After a further hiatus, they reappeared in recent years, releasing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was intended to be a final performance at the O2 Arena on September 30, 2018.

Yet, they remained together, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.

Ball lately described the band's upcoming release as a homage to the New York club scene they frequented while recording their first two albums.

He added that his period 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 morphine," he told a publication.

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

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

The final mixes were finished only a short time before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for release in the spring of 2026.