The talented musician, a key member of the pioneering 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Together with vocalist Marc Almond, the duo scored a worldwide hit with their cover of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in 1984, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a seminal work of electronic music.
He subsequently formed the innovative techno group The Grid, who achieved popular acclaim with their 1994 single the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his sleep at his home in London on October 22, just weeks after performing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in Henley-on-Thames.
Health Struggles
During that performance, Ball performed in a wheelchair, as he had for the last two years, after a spate of ill-health.
"I ended up injure myself significantly," he stated in 2023. "I fractured spinal bones in my back and cracked about multiple ribs and fractured my arm."
After contracting a lung infection and suffering from sepsis, 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 summer, as he was developing a new album with Almond, called Danceteria, which is scheduled for release next year.
"He was concentrated and very pleased with the new album that we actually finished only a short time ago," stated the vocalist in a tribute.
"It's so sad as 2026 was all set to be such an uplifting year for him, and I find comfort from the fact that he listened to the completed album and believed that it was a great piece of work."
Tributes
Almond described his bandmate as "an exceptionally talented creative mastermind", adding: "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 significant aspect of my existence and for the songs you gave me. I couldn't be where I am without your influence."
Richard Norris from The Grid, shared his condolences, recalling Ball's "constant humor" and "unwavering friendship".
"Forming a duo with someone is distinct from joining a band, the bond is very tight," he continued.
"That's how it was with us. We went through so many extraordinary, extraordinary, memorable moments together. Thank you, Dave."
Early Life
Born into a one-parent family in the city of Chester in 1959, Ball was given up for adoption when he was a year and a half old.
He was raised in Blackpool with adoptive parents his caregivers, who altered his given name from Paul to his adopted name, together with his sibling his sister, who was similarly welcomed.
He met Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both learning art. Fuelled by a mutual passion of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the same year, and quickly recorded an extended play.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an distinctive combination: Ball was the reserved technician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they attained a rare musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with synthesizers after watching Kraftwerk appear on a television program a popular series, and began to marry dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.
Their signature song became the United Kingdom's second most popular song of 1981, selling millions of copies globally. Together with successful tracks by other artists, Human League and Ultravox, it contributed to cleared the way for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.
The song was also included on their full-length debut, their initial LP, which produced two additional high-charting hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the record up with the separate release, Torch, which peaked at the second position in the following year.
Career Highlights
Success had its benefits. "I loved being able to afford my first home, having money and travelling, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball recently told with a publication.
But it also caused challenges. "Sudden riches meant we could purchase substances to alleviate the monotony" of media interviews and TV performances, Ball said.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a valid cause, because it applies for so many musicians."
During the party-filled existence, the duo were also growing distant, but they managed to produce a follow-up classic album - the wayward, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out another album, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group to focus on individual endeavors.
Almond went on to have a prosperous solo career, featuring the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who combined acid house with melodic sounds over a enduring collaboration.
Later Work and Comebacks
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 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, 2018.
Yet, they remained active, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.
Ball lately described the duo's new album as a tribute to the NYC nightlife they frequented while making their initial records.
He noted that his time in hospital had shaped the group's music.
"I experienced strange recollections when I was in and out of hospital because I was on pain medication," he told a music magazine.
"Our latest tracks are a electronic representation of the noises in my head from that time.
"In parallel, it's about the times me and Marc got up to in the 1980s."
The final mixes were completed only a short time before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for launch in the spring of 2026.
