The talented musician, one half of the groundbreaking 1980s electronic music 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' the classic track Tainted Love in 1984, and their debut album their initial full-length release is considered a classic of electronic music.
He subsequently formed the pioneering electronic act The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with their 1994 single Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully in his sleep at his residence in London on October 22, only a short time after playing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in Henley-on-Thames.
Health Struggles
During that performance, Ball performed in a mobility chair, as he had for the last two years, after a spate of ill-health.
"I managed to damage myself quite a bit," he stated in a recent interview. "I broke spinal bones in my spine and fractured about multiple ribs and fractured my arm."
After contracting pneumonia and developing sepsis, he was placed in an induced coma and stayed in hospital for seven months.
However, he had been in "a great place emotionally" over the warmer months, as he worked on a new album with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication in the coming year.
"He was concentrated and so happy with the latest project that we actually finished only a short time ago," stated 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 knowledge that he heard the finished record and felt that it was a great piece of work."
Heartfelt Messages
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.
"Many thanks Dave for being an immense part of my existence and for the songs you gave me. I wouldn't be where I am without your influence."
Richard Norris from The Grid, also paid tribute, remembering Ball's "constant humor" and "steadfast support".
"Being in a partnership with someone is distinct from being in a band, the bond is very tight," he continued.
"That was the case 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 the city of Chester in 1959, Ball was given up for adoption when he was 18 months of age.
He grew up in the seaside town with his new family his caregivers, who changed his first name from Paul to David, together with his sibling his sister, who was also adopted.
He met Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both learning art. Fuelled by a shared love of Northern Soul, they established Soft Cell the same year, and quickly recorded an EP.
Creative Collaboration
The duo were an distinctive combination: Ball was the reserved technician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a charismatic showman, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they achieved a rare creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with electronic instruments after watching the band Kraftwerk appear on a television program a popular series, and started to marry moody electronic sounds to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second biggest-selling single of 1981, selling 21 million units worldwide. Together with hits by other artists, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it helped paved the path for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.
The track was also included on their first album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which produced two further top five hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the record up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which reached at the second position in 1982.
Professional Journey
Fame had its upsides. "I enjoyed being able to afford my first home, having financial security and travelling, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball recently shared with a music magazine.
But it also presented problems. "Newfound wealth meant we could afford substances to alleviate the monotony" of press appearances and TV performances, Ball said.
"I know that's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a valid cause, because it works for so many musicians."
Amidst the party-filled existence, the duo 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 released one more LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band to focus on other projects.
Almond went on to have a successful individual path, including the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who combined acid house with ambient pop over a long-lasting partnership.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, releasing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.
After a further break, they reappeared in 2018, releasing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was supposed to be a final performance at the large venue on 30 September, that year.
Yet, they remained together, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic restrictions.
Ball lately characterized the duo's upcoming release as a tribute to the New York club scene they visited while recording their first two albums.
He noted that his period in hospital had influenced the band's sound.
"I had unusual memories when I was coming and going of hospital because I was on pain medication," he told a music magazine.
"The new songs are a digital reflection of the noises in my mind from those days.
"In parallel, it's about the times me and Marc got up to in the 1980s."
The last versions were finished only a short time before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for launch in the spring of 2026.
