Soft Cell Keyboardist Dave Ball, of 'Tainted Love' Fame, Dead at 66

Dave Ball -- one half of the 1980s New Wave pop group Soft Cell -- has died at age 66, according to the band's official website.

Ball was the synthesizer-keyboardist and Marc Almond was the singer of the group that recorded the iconic 1981 track "Tainted Love" … a massive hit, which was actually a cover.

Ball died in his sleep at home in London Wednesday. He'd recently played a show with Soft Cell, just weeks earlier … he was in a wheelchair at the time.

The group's website posted a statement and a series of tributes to Ball following his death.

Ball had been recovering from a fractured vertebrae and broken ribs about 3 years ago when he caught pneumonia, and sepsis followed … he was put in an induced coma for seven months, BBC News reports. But he was in good spirits recently, reportedly hard at work on a new album with Almond before he died.

The group produced five studio albums -- releasing "Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret" in 1981, "The Art of Falling Apart" in 1983, and "This Last Night in Sodom" in 1984 … they reunited to release two more records, in 2002 and 2022 ... and their newest album was reportedly in progress when Ball died.

Ball also cofounded the 1990s techno group The Grid.

He was 66.