The talented musician, a key member of the innovative 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the pair scored a worldwide hit with their cover of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in 1984, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a classic of synth-pop.
He subsequently founded the innovative electronic act The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his rest 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 the Thames-side town.
Health Struggles
At that performance, Ball appeared in a mobility chair, as he had for the last two years, following a period of health issues.
"I managed to injure myself significantly," he commented in 2023. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my back and cracked about multiple ribs and fractured my arm."
Following contracting a lung infection and suffering from sepsis, he was placed in an induced coma and remained in the hospital for seven months.
However, he had been in "a great place mentally" during the summer, as he worked on a new album with Almond, titled the upcoming Danceteria, which is set for publication in the coming year.
"He was concentrated and very pleased with the latest project that we actually completed only a short time ago," stated the singer in a tribute.
"It's so sad as 2026 was completely planned to be such an positive year for him, and I find comfort from the fact that he heard the completed album and felt that it was a great piece of work."
Tributes
Almond referred to his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant musical genius", stating: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our body of work.
"Many thanks Dave for being an immense aspect of my existence and for the music you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without your influence."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, also paid tribute, recalling Ball's "constant humor" and "steadfast support".
"Being in a partnership with someone is different from being in a group, the bond is very tight," he added.
"That was the case with us. We experienced so many remarkable, incredible, memorable experiences as a team. Thank you, Dave."
Formative Years
Brought into the world into a one-parent family in Chester in 1959, Ball was put up for adoption when he was 18 months of age.
He was raised in the seaside town with adoptive parents his caregivers, who altered his given name from Paul to David, alongside his younger sister his sister, who was also adopted.
He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both learning art. Inspired by a shared love of Northern Soul, they established Soft Cell the very year, and quickly produced an EP.
Musical Partnership
The duo were an distinctive combination: Ball was the quiet musician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all glitter and makeup; but they achieved a rare creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with synthesizers after watching Kraftwerk appear on a television program Tomorrow's World, and started to combine dark electronica to the catchy tunes Almond was composing.
Their signature song became the UK's second most popular single of 1981, shifting millions of units worldwide. Together with hits by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it contributed to cleared the path for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The song was also featured on their first album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which produced two further high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the record up with the separate release, Torch, which peaked at number two in the following year.
Professional Journey
Fame had its benefits. "I enjoyed being able to afford my first home, having financial security and exploring, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball not long ago told with a music magazine.
But it also caused problems. "Newfound wealth meant 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 cliché for a good reason, because it applies for so many musicians."
Amidst the hedonistic lifestyle, the duo were also drifting apart, but they succeeded to create a follow-up classic album - the unconventional, edgy and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released one more LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band to concentrate 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 formed The Grid, who combined dance music with melodic sounds over a enduring collaboration.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, releasing the charting album Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following another hiatus, they returned in recent years, releasing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was supposed to be a farewell show at the O2 Arena on September 30, that year.
However, they remained together, recording their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.
Ball lately characterized the band's new album as a tribute to the New York club scene they frequented while recording their first two albums.
He noted that his time in hospital had influenced the group's music.
"I had strange recollections when I was in and out of the hospital because I was on morphine," he told a publication.
"The new songs are a electronic representation of the noises in my mind from that time.
"In parallel, it's about the experiences me and Marc had in the 80s."
The last versions were finished only a short time before Ball passed away. It is due for launch in Spring 2026.
