The talented musician, one half of the innovative 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the team achieved a worldwide hit with their version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in 1984, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a classic of electronic music.
He subsequently formed the innovative techno group The Grid, who secured chart success with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball died peacefully in his sleep at his home in London on Wednesday 22 October, just weeks after performing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in Henley-on-Thames.
Recent Health Challenges
At that performance, Ball performed in a mobility chair, as he had for the last two years, after a period of ill-health.
"I managed to damage myself significantly," he stated in 2023. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my spine and fractured about five ribs and fractured my arm."
After catching pneumonia and suffering from sepsis, he was put in an induced coma and stayed in hospital for half a year.
Nevertheless, he had been in "high spirits mentally" over the warmer months, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, called the upcoming Danceteria, which is scheduled for release in the coming year.
"He was focused and so happy with the latest project that we actually completed only a few days ago," stated the vocalist in a tribute.
"It's truly heartbreaking as 2026 was completely planned to be such an uplifting time for him, and I take some solace from the knowledge that he heard the completed album and believed that it was a great piece of work."
Tributes
Almond referred to his bandmate as "an exceptionally talented creative mastermind", adding: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our legacy.
"Thank you Dave for being an immense part of my life and for the songs you gave me. I wouldn't be where I am without you."
Richard Norris from The Grid, shared his condolences, remembering Ball's "constant humor" and "steadfast support".
"Being in a duo with someone is distinct from joining a band, the connection is very tight," he added.
"That's how it was with us. We went through so many extraordinary, extraordinary, memorable experiences as a team. Thank you, Dave."
Formative Years
Brought into the world into a single-parent household in the city of Chester in 1959, Ball was put up for adoption when he was 18 months of age.
He was raised in the seaside town with his new family his caregivers, who altered his given name from Paul to his adopted name, alongside his younger sister his sister, 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 a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the very year, and quickly recorded an extended play.
Creative Collaboration
The pair were an distinctive combination: Ball was the quiet technician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all glitter and eye-liner; but they achieved a rare creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with synthesizers after viewing the band Kraftwerk perform on a television science show a popular series, and began to marry moody electronic sounds to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling song of 1981, shifting millions of copies worldwide. Alongside hits by other artists, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it contributed to cleared the path for the electronic music style of the 80s.
The track was also included on their full-length debut, their initial LP, which spawned two additional top five singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the album up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at the second position in 1982.
Career Highlights
Success 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 told with a publication.
But it also caused problems. "Sudden riches meant we could afford substances to relieve the monotony" of media interviews and television shows, Ball explained.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a good reason, because it applies for so many bands."
Amidst the hedonistic lifestyle, the pair were also drifting apart, but they managed to create a second memorable record - the wayward, edgy and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out another album, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band 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 acid house with melodic sounds over a enduring collaboration.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell came back together in 2001, producing the Top 40 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 supposed to be a final performance at the O2 Arena on 30 September, 2018.
However, they remained together, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.
Ball lately described the duo's upcoming release as a homage to the NYC nightlife they frequented while recording their initial records.
He noted that his period in medical care had shaped the band's sound.
"I had unusual memories when I was in and out of the hospital because I was on morphine," he explained to a publication.
"The new songs are a electronic representation of the sounds in my head from that time.
"In parallel, it's about the times me and Marc had in the 1980s."
The final mixes were completed only a short time before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for release in the spring of 2026.
