The talented musician, one half of the groundbreaking 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 first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a seminal work of synth-pop.
He later founded the innovative electronic act The Grid, who achieved popular acclaim with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball died calmly in his rest at his residence 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 performed in a mobility chair, as he had for the last two years, following a spate of health issues.
"I managed to injure myself quite a bit," he commented in 2023. "I broke lower vertebrae in my spine and cracked about multiple ribs and fractured my wrist."
Following catching a lung infection and developing sepsis, he was put in an induced coma and stayed in hospital for seven months.
Nevertheless, he had been in "high spirits emotionally" during the summer, as he was developing a new album with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is set for publication in the coming year.
"He was concentrated and so happy with the new album that we actually finished only a short time ago," said the singer in a heartfelt message.
"It's so sad as 2026 was completely planned to be such an uplifting time for him, and I find comfort from the fact that he heard the finished record and felt that it was a great piece of work."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond referred to his bandmate 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 immense part of my life and for the music you created with me. I wouldn't be where I am without your influence."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, also paid tribute, remembering Ball's "endless laughter" and "steadfast support".
"Being in a duo with someone is different from being in a group, the bond is incredibly close," he added.
"That was the case with us. We went through so many remarkable, extraordinary, life-affirming experiences as a team. Thank you, Dave."
Formative Years
Born 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 of age.
He was raised in the seaside town with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his first name from Paul to David, alongside his younger sister Susan, who was also adopted.
He encountered Almond at an art college in the late 70s, where they were both studying art. Fuelled by a mutual passion of Northern Soul, they established Soft Cell the same year, and promptly recorded an EP.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an distinctive combination: Ball was the reserved musician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they achieved a rare creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with electronic instruments after watching the band Kraftwerk appear on BBC program a popular series, and started to combine dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second most popular song of 1981, shifting millions of copies worldwide. Together with successful tracks by Gary Numan, Human League and Ultravox, it contributed to cleared the way for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
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 album up with the separate release, Torch, which peaked at the second position in the following year.
Career Highlights
Fame had its benefits. "I enjoyed being able to purchase 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 caused challenges. "Sudden riches meant we could purchase substances to alleviate the boredom" of press appearances and television shows, Ball explained.
"I know that's a common saying, but it's a cliché for a valid cause, because it applies for so many bands."
Amidst the hedonistic lifestyle, the duo were also drifting apart, but they managed to create a follow-up classic album - the wayward, edgy and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out one more album, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group to focus on other projects.
Almond proceeded to have a successful solo career, featuring the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who mixed dance music with ambient pop over a long-lasting partnership.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell came back together in the early 2000s, producing the Top 40 album Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following another hiatus, they returned in recent years, issuing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was intended to be a farewell show at the large venue on September 30, that year.
Yet, they remained active, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.
Ball recently described the band's upcoming release as a tribute to the NYC nightlife they frequented while making their first two albums.
He added that his period in medical care had influenced the band's sound.
"I had unusual memories when I was coming and going of the hospital because I was on pain medication," he told a publication.
"The new songs are a electronic representation of the noises in my mind from those days.
"In parallel, it's about the experiences me and Marc got up to in the 80s."
The final mixes were completed only a short time before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for launch in Spring 2026.
