The talented musician, one half of the groundbreaking 1980s synth-pop band Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Together with singer Marc Almond, the pair achieved a global success with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a seminal work of synth-pop.
He later formed the innovative techno group The Grid, who secured chart success with their 1994 single the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his sleep at his home in London on October 22, just weeks after playing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in Henley-on-Thames.
Health Struggles
At that performance, Ball performed in a wheelchair, as he had for the last two years, after a spate of ill-health.
"I managed to damage myself significantly," he commented in a recent interview. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my back and fractured about multiple ribs and broke my arm."
Following contracting a lung infection and suffering from sepsis, he was placed in an medically-induced sleep and remained in the hospital for seven months.
However, he had been in "a great place emotionally" during the summer, as he worked on a new album with Almond, titled the upcoming Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication in the coming year.
"He was focused and so happy with the latest project that we literally completed only a few days ago," said the singer in a heartfelt message.
"It's so sad as 2026 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 believed that it was a great piece of work."
Tributes
Almond described his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", stating: "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 part 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, recalling Ball's "constant humor" and "unwavering friendship".
"Forming a partnership with someone is different from being in a band, the bond is very tight," he added.
"That's how it was with us. We experienced so many remarkable, incredible, life-affirming experiences together. Many thanks, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a single-parent household in Chester in 1959, Ball was put 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 first name from Paul to David, together with his younger sister his sister, who was similarly welcomed.
He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both learning art. Inspired by a mutual passion of Northern Soul, they formed Soft Cell the very year, and promptly recorded an EP.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an distinctive pairing: Ball was the reserved musician, hunched over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they attained a rare musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with electronic instruments after watching the band Kraftwerk appear on a television program Tomorrow's World, and started to marry dark electronica to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second most popular single of the early 80s, selling 21 million copies worldwide. Together with successful tracks by other artists, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it helped cleared the way for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The song was also featured on their first album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which spawned two additional top five singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the album up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at the second position in the following year.
Career Highlights
Fame had its upsides. "I enjoyed being able to purchase my first home, having money and exploring, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball not long ago shared with a music magazine.
But it also presented problems. "Newfound wealth meant we could purchase newfound drugs to alleviate the monotony" of media interviews and television shows, Ball explained.
"I know that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a valid cause, because it applies for so many bands."
During the hedonistic lifestyle, the pair were also growing distant, but they managed to create a second memorable record - the wayward, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out one more LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the group to focus on other projects.
Almond proceeded to have a prosperous solo career, including the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who mixed dance music with ambient pop over a enduring partnership.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell reunited in 2001, producing the charting album Cruelty Without Beauty.
After a further break, they returned in recent years, releasing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was intended to be a farewell show at the O2 Arena on September 30, 2018.
Yet, they stayed active, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.
Ball recently characterized the band's upcoming release as a homage to the NYC nightlife they frequented while recording their initial records.
He noted that his time in hospital had influenced the band's sound.
"I had unusual memories when I was coming and going of the hospital because I was on pain medication," he explained to a publication.
"The new songs are a electronic representation of the sounds in my mind from that time.
"In parallel, it's about the times me and Marc had in the 80s."
The last versions were completed only days before Ball died. It is scheduled for release in Spring 2026.
