The talented musician, one half of the pioneering 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Together with vocalist Marc Almond, the duo scored a worldwide hit with their version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a seminal work of synth-pop.
He later formed the innovative electronic act The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with 1994's Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his sleep at his residence in London on Wednesday 22 October, only a short time after performing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in the Thames-side town.
Recent Health Challenges
At that show, Ball performed in a mobility chair, as he had for the previous couple of years, after a spate of ill-health.
"I managed to damage myself significantly," he stated in 2023. "I broke spinal bones in my back and cracked about multiple ribs and fractured my arm."
Following contracting pneumonia and developing blood poisoning, he was placed in an medically-induced sleep and remained in hospital for seven months.
Nevertheless, he had been in "high spirits emotionally" during 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 focused and so happy with the latest project that we actually finished only a short time ago," stated the singer in a heartfelt message.
"It's truly heartbreaking as 2026 was completely planned to be such an positive year for him, and I take some solace from the knowledge that he listened to the finished record and felt that it was a masterpiece."
Tributes
Almond referred to his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant musical genius", stating: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our legacy.
"Thank you Dave for being an significant aspect of my existence and for the songs you gave me. I wouldn't be where I am without you."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, also paid tribute, recalling 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 extraordinary, extraordinary, life-affirming moments as a team. Thank you, 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 old.
He was raised in Blackpool with his new family his caregivers, who changed his first name from Paul to David, together with his younger sister Susan, who was also adopted.
He encountered Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both studying fine arts. Inspired by a mutual passion of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the very year, and quickly produced an extended play.
Musical Partnership
The duo were an distinctive pairing: Ball was the reserved musician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant showman, all glitter and eye-liner; but they attained a rare musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with electronic instruments after watching Kraftwerk perform on a television science show a popular series, and started to combine moody electronic sounds to the catchy tunes Almond was composing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second biggest-selling song of the early 80s, selling millions of copies globally. Alongside successful tracks by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it contributed to cleared the way for the electronic music style of the 80s.
The track was also featured on their first album, their initial LP, which spawned two additional top five hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the record up with the separate release, Torch, which peaked at number two in 1982.
Professional Journey
Success had its benefits. "I enjoyed being able to afford my initial property, having money and travelling, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball recently shared with a publication.
But it also caused challenges. "Sudden riches meant we could purchase substances to alleviate the monotony" of press appearances and television shows, Ball said.
"I know that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a good reason, because it works for so many bands."
During the party-filled existence, the duo were also drifting apart, but they succeeded to create a follow-up classic album - the wayward, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released one more album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group to focus on other projects.
Almond proceeded 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 combined dance music with melodic sounds over a long-lasting collaboration.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell reunited in 2001, producing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following another hiatus, they reappeared in 2018, releasing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was supposed to be a final performance at the O2 Arena on September 30, that year.
However, they stayed active, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.
Ball recently described the band's upcoming release as a tribute to the New York club scene they visited while making their initial records.
He noted that his time in medical care had influenced the band's sound.
"I experienced strange recollections when I was in and out of the hospital because I was on pain medication," he told a music magazine.
"The new songs are a digital reflection of the noises in my head from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences me and Marc had 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.
