The talented musician, one half of the pioneering 1980s synth-pop band Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the duo achieved a worldwide hit with their version of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in 1984, and their first record their initial full-length release is considered a classic of electronic music.
He subsequently founded the innovative techno group The Grid, who achieved popular acclaim with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball died peacefully in his sleep at his residence in London on Wednesday 22 October, just weeks after performing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in the Thames-side town.
Health Struggles
At that show, Ball appeared in a mobility chair, as he had for the previous couple of years, after a period of ill-health.
"I ended up injure myself significantly," he stated in 2023. "I fractured spinal bones in my spine and fractured about multiple ribs and broke my wrist."
Following catching a lung infection and developing blood poisoning, he was placed in an medically-induced sleep 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, called Danceteria, which is set for release next year.
"He was focused and very pleased with the new album that we literally finished only a short time ago," said the vocalist in a heartfelt message.
"It's truly heartbreaking as 2026 was all set to be such an uplifting year 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 described his collaborator as "an exceptionally talented creative mastermind", adding: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our body of work.
"Thank you Dave for being an significant part of my existence and for the songs 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 "constant humor" and "steadfast support".
"Being in a partnership with someone is different from being in a band, the bond is very tight," he added.
"That's how it was with us. We went through so many extraordinary, extraordinary, life-affirming experiences together. Many thanks, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a single-parent household in the city of Chester in the late 50s, Ball was put up for adoption when he was a year and a half of age.
He grew up in Blackpool with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his given name from Paul to David, alongside his younger sister Susan, who was also adopted.
He encountered Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both studying art. Fuelled by a shared love of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the same year, and promptly produced an extended play.
Musical Partnership
The duo were an distinctive combination: Ball was the reserved technician, hunched over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all sparkle and makeup; but they achieved a rare creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with electronic instruments after viewing the band Kraftwerk appear on a television science show Tomorrow's World, and began to combine dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second most popular single of 1981, shifting 21 million units globally. Together with hits by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it contributed to cleared the path for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.
The track was also included on their full-length debut, their initial LP, which produced two additional top five singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the album up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which peaked at the second position in the following year.
Professional Journey
Fame had its benefits. "I loved being able to afford my initial property, having money and exploring, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball not long ago told with a music magazine.
But it also presented problems. "Newfound wealth allowed we could purchase substances to alleviate the monotony" of media interviews and TV performances, Ball said.
"I know that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a valid cause, because it works for so many musicians."
During the hedonistic lifestyle, the pair were also drifting apart, but they succeeded to create a follow-up classic album - the unconventional, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out another album, 1984's 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 dance music with melodic sounds over a long-lasting partnership.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell came back together in 2001, producing the charting album Cruelty Without Beauty.
After a further break, they returned in 2018, issuing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was intended to be a final performance at the O2 Arena on 30 September, that year.
Yet, they stayed together, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic restrictions.
Ball recently characterized the duo's upcoming release as a tribute to the New York club scene they visited while recording their first two albums.
He noted that his time in hospital had shaped the band's sound.
"I had unusual memories 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 digital reflection of the sounds in my mind from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences we got up to in the 80s."
The final mixes were finished only a short time before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for launch in the spring of 2026.
