The talented musician, one half of the pioneering 1980s synth-pop band Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Together with vocalist Marc Almond, the team scored a worldwide hit with their version of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their debut album their initial full-length release is considered a classic of electronic music.
He subsequently founded the innovative electronic act The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with their 1994 single the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully in his sleep at his home in London on October 22, just weeks after playing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in Henley-on-Thames.
Recent Health Challenges
During that show, Ball appeared in a mobility chair, as he had for the last two years, following a spate of health issues.
"I ended up damage myself quite a bit," he commented in 2023. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my back and fractured about five ribs and broke my wrist."
After catching pneumonia and suffering from sepsis, he was put in an induced coma 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 new album with Almond, titled the upcoming Danceteria, which is scheduled for release in the coming year.
"He was focused and very pleased with the new album that we literally completed only a few days ago," stated the vocalist in a heartfelt message.
"It's truly heartbreaking as 2026 was completely planned to be such an positive time for him, and I take some solace from the fact that he listened to the completed album and believed that it was a great piece of work."
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.
"Many thanks Dave for being an significant aspect of my life and for the music you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without your influence."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, shared his condolences, recalling Ball's "constant humor" and "steadfast support".
"Forming a duo with someone is distinct from being in a band, the bond is very tight," he added.
"That's how it was with us. We went through so many remarkable, extraordinary, life-affirming experiences as a team. Many thanks, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a one-parent family in Chester in the late 50s, Ball was put up for adoption when he was a year and a half of age.
He was raised in the seaside town with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his first name from Paul to his adopted name, together with his younger sister Susan, who was similarly welcomed.
He met Almond at an art college in the late 70s, where they were both learning art. Inspired by a mutual passion of Northern Soul, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and promptly produced an EP.
Creative Collaboration
The duo were an unusual combination: Ball was the quiet musician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a charismatic showman, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they achieved a rare musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with synthesizers after watching the band Kraftwerk perform on BBC science show a popular series, and began to combine moody electronic sounds to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling single of 1981, shifting millions of units globally. Alongside successful tracks by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it helped cleared the path for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.
The track was also featured on their full-length debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which produced two additional top five hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the album up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at the second position in 1982.
Professional Journey
Fame had its benefits. "I loved being able to purchase 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. "Sudden riches allowed we could purchase substances to relieve the boredom" of media interviews 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 musicians."
Amidst the hedonistic lifestyle, the pair were also drifting apart, but they succeeded to create a second classic album - the unconventional, edgy and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out one more album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the band to concentrate on individual endeavors.
Almond proceeded to have a successful individual path, featuring 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 long-lasting partnership.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell came back together in 2001, producing the charting album Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following a further break, they returned in recent years, releasing 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 September 30, 2018.
Yet, they stayed together, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.
Ball recently described the band's new album as a tribute to the New York club scene they visited while recording their initial records.
He noted that his period in hospital had shaped the band's sound.
"I had strange recollections when I was in and out of hospital because I was on pain medication," he told a publication.
"Our latest tracks are a electronic representation of the noises in my head from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the times me and Marc got up to in the 80s."
The last versions were finished only days before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for launch in the spring of 2026.
