The talented musician, a key member of the innovative 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Together with vocalist Marc Almond, the team scored a worldwide hit with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a classic of synth-pop.
He subsequently founded the pioneering electronic act The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with their 1994 single Swamp Thing.
Ball died calmly in his rest at his residence in London on Wednesday 22 October, only a short time after playing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in the Thames-side town.
Recent Health Challenges
During that performance, Ball performed in a mobility chair, as he had for the previous couple of years, following a period of ill-health.
"I managed to damage myself significantly," he stated in a recent interview. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my spine and cracked about multiple ribs and broke my wrist."
After contracting a lung infection and developing sepsis, he was placed in an medically-induced sleep and stayed in the hospital for half a year.
Nevertheless, he had been in "high spirits mentally" during the warmer months, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is set for publication next year.
"He was concentrated and very pleased with the new album that we actually completed only a few days ago," said the vocalist in a heartfelt message.
"It's so sad as 2026 was all set to be such an positive time for him, and I take some solace from the knowledge that he heard the completed album and believed that it was a masterpiece."
Tributes
Almond referred to his bandmate as "a wonderfully brilliant musical genius", stating: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our legacy.
"Thank you Dave for being an immense aspect of my existence and for the music you created with me. I wouldn't be where I am without your influence."
Richard Norris from The Grid, shared his condolences, remembering Ball's "endless laughter" and "unwavering friendship".
"Being in a partnership with someone is different from being in a group, the bond is very tight," he added.
"That's how it was with us. We experienced so many extraordinary, incredible, life-affirming moments together. Thank you, Dave."
Formative Years
Brought into the world into a one-parent family in the city of Chester in the late 50s, Ball was put up for adoption when he was a year and a half old.
He was raised in Blackpool with adoptive parents his caregivers, who changed his given name from Paul to his adopted name, together with his younger sister his sister, who was similarly welcomed.
He encountered Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both learning fine arts. Inspired by a mutual passion of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the very year, and promptly recorded an extended play.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an unusual combination: Ball was the quiet technician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all glitter and makeup; but they attained a rare creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with electronic instruments after viewing the band Kraftwerk appear on BBC program Tomorrow's World, and began to combine dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling single of the early 80s, selling millions of copies worldwide. Together with hits by other artists, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it contributed to paved the path for the synth-pop sound of the 80s.
The song was also included on their first album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which spawned two additional top five hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the record up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at number two in 1982.
Career Highlights
Success had its benefits. "I loved being able to afford my first home, having financial security and exploring, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball not long ago shared with a music magazine.
But it also caused problems. "Newfound wealth allowed we could purchase newfound drugs to relieve 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 works for so many bands."
Amidst the party-filled existence, the duo were also growing distant, but they managed to produce a follow-up memorable record - the unconventional, edgy and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released one more album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the group to focus 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 combined acid house with melodic sounds over a long-lasting collaboration.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell reunited in 2001, producing the charting album Cruelty Without Beauty.
After another break, they reappeared in 2018, 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 September 30, that year.
Yet, they remained together, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.
Ball lately described the duo's upcoming release as a tribute to the NYC nightlife they frequented while recording their initial records.
He added that his time in medical care had shaped the group's music.
"I experienced unusual memories 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 sounds in my mind from that time.
"Simultaneously, it's about the times we had in the 1980s."
The final mixes were completed only days before Ball passed away. It is due for launch in the spring of 2026.
