The talented musician, one half of the groundbreaking 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Together with vocalist Marc Almond, the pair scored a worldwide hit with their version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their debut album their initial full-length release is considered a classic of electronic music.
He subsequently founded the pioneering electronic act The Grid, who achieved chart success with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully in his rest at his residence in London on Wednesday 22 October, only a short time after playing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in Henley-on-Thames.
Health Struggles
During that show, Ball appeared in a wheelchair, as he had for the previous couple of years, following a spate of ill-health.
"I managed to injure myself quite a bit," he commented in 2023. "I broke spinal bones in my back and fractured about multiple ribs and fractured my arm."
Following catching a lung infection and developing sepsis, he was placed in an medically-induced sleep and remained in hospital for half a year.
Nevertheless, he had been in "high spirits emotionally" during the summer, as he worked on a new album with Almond, titled the upcoming Danceteria, which is set for publication in the coming year.
"He was focused and very pleased with the latest project that we actually finished only a short time ago," said the singer in a heartfelt message.
"It's so sad as 2026 was completely planned to be such an positive year for him, and I take some solace from the knowledge that he heard the completed album and believed that it was a great piece of work."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond described his collaborator as "an exceptionally talented creative mastermind", adding: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our body of work.
"Many thanks Dave for being an significant part of my life and for the music you created with me. I wouldn't be where I am without you."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, shared his condolences, remembering Ball's "constant humor" and "unwavering friendship".
"Being in a partnership with someone is different from joining a band, the connection is very tight," he added.
"That's how it was with us. We went through so many remarkable, extraordinary, memorable experiences together. Many thanks, Dave."
Formative Years
Born into a one-parent family in the city of Chester in the late 50s, Ball was put up for adoption when he was 18 months of age.
He was raised in the seaside town with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his given name from Paul to his adopted name, alongside his sibling his sister, who was similarly welcomed.
He encountered Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both studying art. Inspired by a mutual passion of Northern Soul, they established Soft Cell the same year, and promptly recorded an EP.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an unusual combination: Ball was the reserved technician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all glitter and eye-liner; but they attained a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with electronic instruments after watching Kraftwerk perform on a television science show a popular series, and started to marry dark electronica to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.
Their signature song became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling single of the early 80s, shifting millions of copies worldwide. Together with hits by Gary Numan, Human League and Ultravox, it helped paved the way for the electronic music style of the 80s.
The song was also featured on their full-length debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which spawned two additional top five hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the album up with the separate release, Torch, which peaked at number two in the following year.
Professional Journey
Success had its benefits. "I loved being able to afford my initial property, having money and exploring, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball not long ago told with a music magazine.
But it also caused problems. "Sudden riches allowed we could purchase newfound drugs to relieve the boredom" of press appearances and television shows, Ball said.
"I know that's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a good reason, because it works for so many musicians."
During the hedonistic lifestyle, the pair were also drifting apart, but they managed to produce a second classic album - the unconventional, edgy and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released another album, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the group to focus on individual endeavors.
Almond went on to have a prosperous solo career, including the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who mixed acid house with melodic sounds over a enduring collaboration.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell came back together in the early 2000s, releasing the charting album Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following a further hiatus, 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 final performance at the O2 Arena on 30 September, that year.
However, they stayed together, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.
Ball lately described the duo's new album as a tribute to the New York club scene they visited while making their initial records.
He added that his period in hospital had shaped the band's sound.
"I had strange recollections when I was coming and going of the hospital because I was on morphine," he told a music magazine.
"The new songs are a digital reflection of the noises in my head from those days.
"In parallel, it's about the experiences we got up to in the 80s."
The final mixes were completed only a short time before Ball died. It is scheduled for launch in Spring 2026.
