The talented musician, one half of the innovative 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Together with singer Marc Almond, the pair achieved a global success with their version of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record their initial full-length release is regarded as a seminal work of electronic music.
He subsequently formed the innovative electronic act The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with their 1994 single the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his rest at his home in London on October 22, only a short time after playing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in Henley-on-Thames.
Recent Health Challenges
At that performance, Ball appeared in a wheelchair, as he had for the previous couple of years, after a period of health issues.
"I managed to injure myself significantly," he stated in a recent interview. "I fractured spinal bones in my back and cracked about five ribs and broke my wrist."
Following catching pneumonia and developing blood poisoning, he was placed in an medically-induced sleep and stayed in the hospital for half a year.
However, he had been in "high spirits emotionally" over the summer, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is scheduled for release next year.
"He was concentrated and so happy with the new album that we literally completed only a few days ago," said the vocalist in a tribute.
"It's truly heartbreaking as 2026 was all set to be such an positive year for him, and I find comfort from the knowledge that he heard the finished record and felt that it was a masterpiece."
Tributes
Almond described his collaborator as "an exceptionally talented creative mastermind", 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 significant 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, remembering Ball's "endless laughter" and "unwavering friendship".
"Forming a partnership with someone is different from being in a band, the connection is incredibly close," he continued.
"That was the case with us. We experienced so many remarkable, incredible, memorable moments as a team. Thank you, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a single-parent household in Chester in 1959, Ball was put up for adoption when he was 18 months of age.
He grew up in the seaside town with adoptive parents his caregivers, who changed his given name from Paul to David, together with his sibling Susan, who was similarly welcomed.
He met Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in the late 70s, where they were both studying art. Fuelled by a shared love of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the very year, and quickly recorded an extended play.
Creative Collaboration
The pair were an unusual combination: Ball was the reserved technician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic showman, all glitter and eye-liner; but they achieved a rare musical alchemy.
Ball had developed a fascination with electronic instruments after viewing Kraftwerk perform on BBC program Tomorrow's World, and started to marry dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.
Their signature song became the UK's second most popular song of 1981, shifting 21 million copies globally. Alongside successful tracks by other artists, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it contributed to cleared the way for the electronic music style of the 80s.
The track was also featured on their first album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which spawned two further top five hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the album up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which reached at the second position in the following year.
Career Highlights
Fame had its upsides. "I loved being able to purchase my initial property, 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. "Newfound wealth allowed we could purchase substances to alleviate the boredom" of media interviews and television shows, Ball explained.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a good reason, because it works for so many bands."
Amidst the hedonistic lifestyle, the pair were also drifting apart, but they managed to create a follow-up classic album - the wayward, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out one more LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band to concentrate on other projects.
Almond went on to have a successful individual path, including the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who mixed acid house with ambient pop over a enduring partnership.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell came back together in the early 2000s, releasing the charting record Cruelty Without Beauty.
After a further hiatus, they reappeared in recent years, releasing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was supposed to be a final performance at the large venue on 30 September, 2018.
However, they stayed together, recording their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic restrictions.
Ball recently characterized the duo's new album as a homage to the NYC nightlife they frequented while recording their first two albums.
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 morphine," he explained to a music magazine.
"The new songs are a electronic representation of the sounds in my head from that time.
"Simultaneously, it's about the times we got up to in the 1980s."
The final mixes were finished only days before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for launch in the spring of 2026.
