The talented musician, one half of the innovative 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Together with vocalist Marc Almond, the duo scored a global success with their version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a seminal work of electronic music.
He subsequently founded the pioneering 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, only a short time after performing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in Henley-on-Thames.
Health Struggles
During that show, Ball performed in a wheelchair, as he had for the previous couple of years, following a spate of health issues.
"I ended up injure myself quite a bit," he stated in 2023. "I fractured spinal bones in my spine and fractured about five ribs and broke my arm."
After contracting a lung infection and developing sepsis, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and remained in the hospital for half a year.
However, he had been in "a great place mentally" over the summer, as he worked on a new album with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication in the coming year.
"He was concentrated and very pleased with the new album that we literally completed only a few days ago," said the vocalist in a heartfelt message.
"It's so sad as 2026 was all set to be such an uplifting year for him, and I take some solace from the fact that he heard the completed album and believed that it was a masterpiece."
Tributes
Almond described his bandmate as "a wonderfully brilliant musical genius", adding: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our body of work.
"Thank you Dave for being an immense part of my life and for the music you gave me. I wouldn't be where I am without you."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, also paid tribute, recalling Ball's "constant humor" and "unwavering friendship".
"Being in a duo with someone is distinct from joining a band, the connection is incredibly close," he added.
"That's how it was with us. We experienced so many extraordinary, extraordinary, life-affirming moments together. Thank you, Dave."
Formative Years
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 a year and a half old.
He was raised in Blackpool with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who altered his given name from Paul to his adopted name, together with his sibling Susan, who was also adopted.
He met Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in the late 70s, where they were both studying fine arts. Inspired by a shared love of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the very year, and promptly recorded an extended play.
Creative Collaboration
The duo were an unusual combination: Ball was the reserved musician, hunched over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant showman, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they attained a rare musical alchemy.
Ball had developed a fascination with synthesizers after viewing Kraftwerk appear on BBC science show a popular series, and began to marry dark electronica to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second most popular song of 1981, shifting 21 million copies worldwide. Together with successful tracks by other artists, Human League and electronic acts, it helped cleared the path for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.
The song was also featured on their first album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which produced two further high-charting hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the album up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which peaked at the second position in the following year.
Professional Journey
Fame had its benefits. "I enjoyed being able to afford my first home, having money and travelling, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball not long ago told with a publication.
But it also presented challenges. "Sudden riches meant we could purchase substances 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 valid cause, because it works for so many musicians."
During the hedonistic lifestyle, the duo were also drifting apart, but they managed to produce a second classic album - the unconventional, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out one more album, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band to concentrate on individual endeavors.
Almond went on to have a successful individual path, including the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who combined acid house with ambient pop over a long-lasting collaboration.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell came back together in the early 2000s, releasing the charting album Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following another break, they reappeared in recent years, issuing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was supposed to be a final performance at the large venue on September 30, 2018.
Yet, they stayed together, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic restrictions.
Ball lately characterized the duo's upcoming release as a homage to the New York club scene they visited while making their first two albums.
He noted that his time in hospital had influenced the band's sound.
"I experienced unusual memories when I was in and out of hospital because I was on morphine," he explained to a publication.
"Our latest tracks are a digital reflection of the sounds in my mind from that time.
"Simultaneously, it's about the times me and Marc had in the 1980s."
The final mixes were finished only days before Ball died. It is scheduled for release in the spring of 2026.
