The talented musician, a key member of the innovative 1980s synth-pop duo Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the pair scored a global success with their version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in 1984, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a classic of electronic music.
He subsequently founded the innovative techno group The Grid, who secured chart success with their 1994 single the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his sleep 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.
Recent Health Challenges
At that show, Ball performed in a wheelchair, as he had for the last two years, following a spate of ill-health.
"I ended up damage myself quite a bit," he commented in 2023. "I broke lower vertebrae in my back and cracked about five ribs and broke my arm."
After catching pneumonia and developing blood poisoning, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and stayed in hospital for seven months.
However, he had been in "high spirits emotionally" during the summer, as he worked on a new album with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is set for release next year.
"He was focused and so happy with the latest project that we literally completed only a few days ago," stated the singer in a tribute.
"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 heard the finished record and felt that it was a great piece of work."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond referred to his bandmate as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", adding: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our body of work.
"Thank you Dave for being an immense aspect of my existence and for the music you gave me. I couldn't be where I am without your influence."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, also paid tribute, recalling Ball's "endless laughter" and "steadfast support".
"Forming 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 experienced so many extraordinary, incredible, memorable experiences as a team. Thank you, Dave."
Early Life
Born into a single-parent household in the city of Chester in the late 50s, Ball was put up for adoption when he was 18 months old.
He was raised in the seaside town with his new family Donald and Brenda Ball, who altered his first name from Paul to his adopted name, together with his sibling his sister, who was also adopted.
He encountered Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both studying fine arts. Fuelled by a shared love of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the very year, and quickly recorded an extended play.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an unusual combination: Ball was the quiet musician, hunched over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all glitter and makeup; but they attained a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had developed a interest with synthesizers after watching the band Kraftwerk appear on BBC science show a popular series, and began to combine moody electronic sounds to the catchy tunes Almond was composing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second biggest-selling single of 1981, selling millions of units globally. Together with hits by Gary Numan, Human League and Ultravox, it helped paved the path for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The track was also included on their full-length debut, their initial LP, which produced two additional top five hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the record up with the stand-alone single, 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 financial security and exploring, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball recently shared with a publication.
But it also presented challenges. "Newfound wealth allowed we could afford newfound drugs to alleviate the monotony" of press appearances and TV performances, Ball explained.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a good reason, because it works for so many musicians."
Amidst the hedonistic lifestyle, the pair were also growing distant, but they succeeded to produce a follow-up classic album - the wayward, edgy and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out one more album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group to concentrate on other projects.
Almond proceeded to have a successful individual path, featuring the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who mixed dance music with melodic sounds over a long-lasting collaboration.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell came back together in the early 2000s, producing the Top 40 album Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following another hiatus, they reappeared in 2018, issuing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was intended to be a final performance at the large venue on 30 September, 2018.
However, they remained together, recording their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.
Ball lately described the band's upcoming release as a homage to the New York club scene they visited while recording their first two albums.
He noted that his time in medical care had influenced the group's music.
"I had strange recollections when I was in and out of the hospital because I was on morphine," he told a publication.
"Our latest tracks are a digital reflection of the sounds in my head from that time.
"Simultaneously, it's about the times me and Marc had in the 1980s."
The final mixes were finished only a short time before Ball died. It is due for release in the spring of 2026.
