The talented musician, a key member of the innovative 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Alongside vocalist Marc Almond, the duo achieved a worldwide hit with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in 1984, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a classic of electronic music.
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 Wednesday 22 October, just weeks after playing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in the Thames-side town.
Health Struggles
During that show, Ball performed in a wheelchair, as he had for the last two years, following a spate of ill-health.
"I ended up injure myself quite a bit," he commented in a recent interview. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my back and cracked about multiple ribs and fractured my wrist."
After catching a lung infection and developing blood poisoning, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and remained in the hospital for half a year.
Nevertheless, he had been in "high spirits mentally" over the summer, as he worked on a new album with Almond, called the upcoming Danceteria, which is scheduled for release in the coming year.
"He was focused and so happy with the new album that we actually completed only a few days ago," said the vocalist in a tribute.
"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 listened to the finished record and believed that it was a great piece of work."
Tributes
Almond described his collaborator as "an exceptionally talented creative mastermind", adding: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our legacy.
"Many thanks Dave for being an significant aspect of my life and for the music you gave me. I wouldn't be where I am without you."
Richard Norris from The Grid, shared his condolences, remembering Ball's "constant humor" and "steadfast support".
"Being in a duo with someone is different from joining a group, the connection is very tight," he added.
"That was the case with us. We experienced so many extraordinary, incredible, life-affirming moments together. Many thanks, Dave."
Early Life
Born into a one-parent family in Chester in the late 50s, Ball was put up for adoption when he was 18 months of age.
He was raised in Blackpool with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his first name from Paul to David, alongside his sibling Susan, who was also adopted.
He met Almond at an art college in the late 70s, where they were both studying fine arts. Inspired by a mutual passion of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the very year, and promptly produced an extended play.
Creative Collaboration
The duo were an unusual pairing: Ball was the quiet musician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant showman, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they achieved a rare musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with electronic instruments after viewing the band Kraftwerk perform on BBC program Tomorrow's World, and began to marry dark electronica to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.
Their signature song became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling song of the early 80s, shifting 21 million units worldwide. Together with successful tracks by other artists, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it helped paved the way for the synth-pop sound of the 80s.
The song was also featured on their full-length debut, their initial LP, which spawned two further top five singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the record up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at the second position in 1982.
Professional Journey
Success had its benefits. "I enjoyed being able to purchase my initial property, having financial security and exploring, which makes me sound like a Miss World," Ball recently shared with a publication.
But it also caused challenges. "Sudden riches meant we could afford newfound drugs to alleviate the monotony" of press appearances and television shows, Ball explained.
"I know that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a valid cause, because it applies for so many musicians."
Amidst the hedonistic lifestyle, the duo were also growing distant, but they managed to produce a second classic album - the unconventional, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released one more album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the band to concentrate on other projects.
Almond went on to have a prosperous individual path, featuring the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who mixed acid house with melodic sounds over a long-lasting partnership.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell came back together in the early 2000s, releasing the Top 40 album Cruelty Without Beauty.
After a further break, they reappeared in recent years, issuing the new tracks 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, 2018.
Yet, they remained together, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.
Ball recently described the duo's upcoming release as a homage to the New York club scene they visited while making their first two albums.
He added that his time in medical care had influenced the group's music.
"I experienced strange recollections when I was in and out of the hospital because I was on pain medication," he explained to a publication.
"The new songs are a electronic representation of the sounds in my head from those days.
"In parallel, it's about the experiences me and Marc got up to in the 80s."
The last versions were completed only a short time before Ball passed away. It is due for launch in Spring 2026.
