The talented musician, one half of the groundbreaking 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has passed away 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 Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a classic of electronic music.
He later formed the innovative electronic act The Grid, who achieved popular acclaim with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his rest at his residence in London on Wednesday 22 October, just weeks after playing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in Henley-on-Thames.
Health Struggles
At that show, Ball performed in a wheelchair, as he had for the previous couple of years, following a spate of ill-health.
"I ended up injure myself significantly," he stated in 2023. "I broke spinal bones in my spine and fractured about multiple ribs and broke my wrist."
After contracting a lung infection and suffering from sepsis, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and remained in hospital for half a year.
Nevertheless, he had been in "a great place emotionally" during the warmer months, as he was developing a new album with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication in the coming year.
"He was concentrated and very pleased with the latest project that we literally finished only a few days ago," said 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 referred to his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", 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 music you created with me. I wouldn't be where I am without your influence."
Richard Norris from The Grid, shared his condolences, recalling Ball's "constant humor" and "steadfast support".
"Being in a duo with someone is distinct from joining a band, the bond is incredibly close," he continued.
"That's how it was with us. We went through so many extraordinary, incredible, memorable experiences together. Thank you, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a single-parent household in the city of Chester in 1959, Ball was put up for adoption when he was 18 months of age.
He was raised in Blackpool with his new family Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his first name from Paul to David, alongside his sibling Susan, who was similarly welcomed.
He met Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both studying art. Inspired by a shared love of Northern Soul, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and quickly produced an EP.
Musical Partnership
The duo were an unusual pairing: Ball was the quiet technician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant showman, all glitter and eye-liner; but they achieved a rare musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with electronic instruments after viewing Kraftwerk perform on BBC science show Tomorrow's World, and started to marry moody electronic sounds to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second most popular song of the early 80s, shifting 21 million units globally. Together with successful tracks by other artists, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it contributed to cleared the path 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 top five hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the record up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at the second position in the following year.
Professional Journey
Success had its benefits. "I enjoyed being able to afford my initial property, having money and exploring, which might seem like a beauty queen," Ball recently told with a publication.
But it also presented problems. "Sudden riches allowed we could afford newfound drugs 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 valid cause, because it applies for so many bands."
Amidst the party-filled existence, the pair were also growing distant, but they succeeded to create a follow-up classic album - the wayward, edgy and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released one more LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the band to concentrate 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 melodic sounds over a long-lasting collaboration.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell came back together in the early 2000s, producing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following another hiatus, they returned in recent years, releasing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was intended to be a farewell show at the O2 Arena on 30 September, that year.
However, they stayed active, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.
Ball lately characterized the duo's upcoming release as a homage to the NYC nightlife they frequented while making their first two albums.
He noted that his time in medical care had influenced the band's sound.
"I experienced unusual memories when I was coming and going of the hospital because I was on pain medication," he told a publication.
"Our latest tracks are a electronic representation of the sounds in my mind from those days.
"In parallel, it's about the times me and Marc had in the 1980s."
The last versions were finished only a short time before Ball died. It is scheduled for release in the spring of 2026.
