The talented musician, one half of the groundbreaking 1980s synth-pop duo Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Together with singer Marc Almond, the duo achieved a worldwide hit with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in 1984, and their first record their initial full-length release is considered a classic of electronic music.
He later founded the pioneering electronic act The Grid, who achieved chart success with 1994's Swamp Thing.
Ball died peacefully in his sleep at his home in London on Wednesday 22 October, only a short time after playing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in the Thames-side town.
Recent Health Challenges
During that show, Ball appeared in a mobility chair, as he had for the previous couple of years, following a spate of ill-health.
"I ended up injure myself significantly," he stated in a recent interview. "I broke spinal bones in my spine and cracked about five ribs and broke my arm."
After contracting a lung infection and developing blood poisoning, he was placed in an induced coma and remained in hospital for seven months.
However, he had been in "high spirits mentally" during the summer, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is scheduled for release in the coming year.
"He was concentrated and very pleased with the new album that we literally finished only a short time ago," stated the vocalist in a heartfelt message.
"It's truly heartbreaking as 2026 was all set to be such an uplifting time for him, and I find comfort from the knowledge that he listened to the finished record and believed that it was a masterpiece."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond referred to his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant musical genius", adding: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our legacy.
"Thank you Dave for being an immense aspect of my life and for the songs you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without you."
Richard Norris from The Grid, also paid tribute, recalling Ball's "endless laughter" and "steadfast support".
"Forming a partnership with someone is different from joining a group, the bond is very tight," he added.
"That was the case with us. We went through so many extraordinary, incredible, memorable experiences as a team. Thank you, Dave."
Formative Years
Brought into the world 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 of age.
He grew up in Blackpool with adoptive parents his caregivers, who altered his first name from Paul to David, alongside his sibling his sister, who was also adopted.
He encountered Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both studying art. Fuelled by a shared love of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the very year, and promptly recorded an EP.
Musical Partnership
The duo were an distinctive pairing: Ball was the quiet musician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant showman, all glitter and makeup; but they achieved a unique creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with electronic instruments after viewing Kraftwerk perform on a television science show a popular series, and began to marry moody electronic sounds to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second most popular single of 1981, shifting millions of units worldwide. Together with successful tracks by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it helped cleared the path for the synth-pop sound of the 80s.
The track was also featured on their first album, their initial LP, which produced two further top five singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the record up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which reached at number two in 1982.
Career Highlights
Success had its benefits. "I enjoyed being able to afford my first home, having financial security and travelling, which makes me sound like a Miss World," Ball not long ago shared with a publication.
But it also presented challenges. "Newfound wealth meant we could purchase substances to relieve the boredom" of press appearances and television shows, Ball said.
"I realize that's a common saying, but it's a truism for a valid cause, because it works for so many bands."
Amidst the party-filled existence, the duo were also drifting apart, but they succeeded to produce a follow-up classic album - the unconventional, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out another LP, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the band to focus on individual endeavors.
Almond went on to have a prosperous solo career, including the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who mixed dance music with ambient pop over a long-lasting partnership.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell came back together in 2001, producing the charting record Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following another break, 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 final performance at the O2 Arena on 30 September, that year.
Yet, they stayed together, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.
Ball recently described the duo's upcoming release as a tribute to the New York club scene they visited while making their first two albums.
He added that his period in medical care had influenced the band's sound.
"I experienced strange recollections when I was coming and going of hospital because I was on morphine," he explained to a publication.
"Our latest tracks are a digital reflection of the noises in my mind from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences me and Marc had in the 1980s."
The final mixes were completed only a short time before Ball died. It is scheduled for release in the spring of 2026.
