The talented musician, a key member of the groundbreaking 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Alongside vocalist Marc Almond, the pair scored a worldwide hit with their cover of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record their initial full-length release is considered a classic of synth-pop.
He subsequently formed the innovative techno group The Grid, who secured chart success with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball died peacefully in his rest at his home in London on Wednesday 22 October, only a short time after performing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in the Thames-side town.
Health Struggles
At that show, Ball performed in a mobility chair, as he had for the last two years, after a period of health issues.
"I managed to damage myself significantly," he commented in 2023. "I fractured spinal bones in my back and cracked about five ribs and broke my wrist."
Following contracting a lung infection and suffering from blood poisoning, he was put in an induced coma and remained in hospital for seven months.
However, he had been in "high spirits emotionally" during the warmer months, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is set for publication in the coming year.
"He was focused and very pleased with the latest project that we actually completed only a short time ago," said the vocalist in a tribute.
"It's truly heartbreaking as 2026 was completely planned to be such an uplifting year for him, and I find comfort from the knowledge that he heard the finished record and felt that it was a great piece of work."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond referred to his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", adding: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our legacy.
"Many thanks Dave for being an significant aspect of my existence and for the songs you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without you."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, shared his condolences, remembering Ball's "endless laughter" and "unwavering friendship".
"Being in a duo with someone is different from being in a band, the connection is very tight," he added.
"That's how it was with us. We went through so many remarkable, incredible, life-affirming experiences as a team. Many thanks, Dave."
Formative Years
Brought into the world into a one-parent family in the city of Chester in 1959, Ball was put up for adoption when he was 18 months old.
He was raised in the seaside town with adoptive parents his caregivers, who changed his first name from Paul to his adopted name, alongside his sibling Susan, who was also adopted.
He met Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in the late 70s, where they were both studying fine arts. Inspired by a shared love of Northern Soul, they established Soft Cell the same year, and quickly recorded an extended play.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an unusual combination: Ball was the quiet musician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they achieved a unique creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with electronic instruments after watching Kraftwerk perform on a television science show Tomorrow's World, and started to marry moody electronic sounds to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second most popular single of 1981, selling millions of copies worldwide. Together with successful tracks by other artists, Human League and Ultravox, it contributed to paved the way for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.
The song was also included on their full-length debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which produced two additional high-charting 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.
Professional Journey
Fame had its benefits. "I loved being able to afford my first home, having money and exploring, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball recently told with a publication.
But it also caused challenges. "Newfound wealth allowed we could afford newfound drugs to alleviate the monotony" 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 works for so many musicians."
During the party-filled existence, the duo were also growing distant, but they managed to create a second classic album - the unconventional, edgy and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out another LP, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band to concentrate on other projects.
Almond went on to have a prosperous individual path, including the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who mixed dance music with melodic sounds over a long-lasting collaboration.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell came back together in 2001, producing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following a further hiatus, they returned in 2018, releasing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was supposed to be a farewell show at the O2 Arena on 30 September, 2018.
Yet, they remained together, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.
Ball lately described the band's upcoming release as a tribute to the NYC nightlife they frequented while recording their first two albums.
He noted that his time in hospital had shaped the band's sound.
"I experienced strange recollections when I was coming and going of hospital because I was on morphine," he explained to a publication.
"Our latest tracks are a digital reflection of the noises in my head from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the times we had in the 1980s."
The final mixes were completed only days before Ball died. It is scheduled for release in Spring 2026.
