"I can take solace that he heard this finished record and felt it was a great piece of work," singer writes of longtime bandmate and their "next (and now the last) album together"

Soft Cell star Dave Ball, a pioneer of the synth-pop sound that came to define the 1980s, has died aged 66, the band has confirmed.

The pair’s first release came in the form of 1980’s Mutant Moments EP.