The talented musician, one half of the pioneering 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Together with vocalist Marc Almond, the duo achieved a worldwide hit with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a classic of electronic music.
He subsequently founded the pioneering electronic act The Grid, who achieved popular acclaim with their 1994 single Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his sleep at his residence in London on October 22, only a short time after performing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in Henley-on-Thames.
Recent Health Challenges
At that show, Ball performed in a mobility chair, as he had for the previous couple of years, after a period of ill-health.
"I managed to injure myself significantly," he commented in 2023. "I fractured spinal bones in my back and fractured about multiple ribs and fractured my wrist."
Following contracting pneumonia and suffering from sepsis, he was put in an induced coma and remained in the hospital for half a year.
However, he had been in "high spirits mentally" over the warmer months, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, called Danceteria, which is set for release next year.
"He was focused and so happy with the latest project that we actually completed only a few days ago," said the singer in a tribute.
"It's so sad as 2026 was all set to be such an uplifting time for him, and I take some solace from the knowledge that he listened to the completed album and felt that it was a masterpiece."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond described his bandmate as "an exceptionally talented creative mastermind", adding: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our body of work.
"Thank you Dave for being an significant part of my existence and for the songs you gave me. I couldn't be where I am without you."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, shared his condolences, remembering Ball's "endless laughter" and "unwavering friendship".
"Being in a duo with someone is different from joining a group, the connection is incredibly close," he added.
"That's how it was with us. We experienced so many remarkable, incredible, memorable moments together. Many thanks, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a one-parent family in the city of Chester in the late 50s, 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 changed his first name from Paul to his adopted name, alongside his sibling Susan, who was also adopted.
He met Almond at an art college 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 promptly produced an extended play.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an unusual pairing: Ball was the quiet musician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant showman, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they attained a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with electronic instruments after viewing Kraftwerk perform on BBC program Tomorrow's World, and began to combine dark electronica to the catchy tunes Almond was composing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second most popular song of 1981, selling millions of copies globally. Alongside successful tracks by Gary Numan, Human League and electronic acts, it helped cleared the path for the electronic music style of the 80s.
The song was also included on their first album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which spawned two additional high-charting hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the record up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which peaked at the second position in 1982.
Professional Journey
Success had its benefits. "I loved being able to purchase my initial property, having financial security and travelling, which might seem like a beauty queen," Ball not long ago told with a publication.
But it also caused challenges. "Sudden riches allowed we could purchase newfound drugs to alleviate the monotony" of press appearances and TV performances, Ball explained.
"I know that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a valid cause, because it applies for so many musicians."
During the hedonistic lifestyle, the duo were also growing distant, but they managed to produce a follow-up classic album - the wayward, edgy and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out another LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the band to focus on individual endeavors.
Almond proceeded to have a prosperous 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.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell came back together in the early 2000s, releasing the Top 40 album Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following another hiatus, they reappeared in 2018, issuing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was supposed to be a final performance at the O2 Arena on 30 September, that year.
However, they remained active, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic restrictions.
Ball lately described the band's new album as a homage to the NYC nightlife they frequented while recording their initial records.
He noted that his time in hospital had influenced the band's sound.
"I experienced strange recollections when I was coming and going of the hospital because I was on pain medication," he told a publication.
"The new songs are a digital reflection of the noises in my mind from those days.
"In parallel, it's about the experiences me and Marc got up to in the 1980s."
The last versions were completed only a short time before Ball died. It is scheduled for launch in Spring 2026.
