The talented musician, a key member of the groundbreaking 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Together with singer Marc Almond, the team scored a global success with their version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record their initial full-length release is regarded as a seminal work of synth-pop.
He subsequently founded the innovative electronic act The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with 1994's Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his sleep at his residence in London on Wednesday 22 October, just weeks after playing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in the Thames-side town.
Recent Health Challenges
During that performance, Ball performed in a mobility chair, as he had for the last two years, following a period of health issues.
"I managed to injure myself quite a bit," he stated in a recent interview. "I fractured spinal bones in my back and fractured about multiple ribs and fractured my wrist."
After contracting pneumonia and developing sepsis, he was placed in an induced coma and stayed in hospital for half a year.
Nevertheless, he had been in "high spirits mentally" during the summer, as he was developing a new album with Almond, titled the upcoming 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 vocalist in a heartfelt message.
"It's truly heartbreaking as 2026 was all set to be such an uplifting year for him, and I find comfort from the fact that he heard the finished record and felt that it was a masterpiece."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond described his bandmate as "a wonderfully brilliant musical genius", stating: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our legacy.
"Thank you Dave for being an immense aspect of my life and for the songs 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 "constant humor" and "unwavering friendship".
"Forming a duo with someone is different from joining a group, the connection is incredibly close," he continued.
"That's how it was with us. We experienced so many remarkable, incredible, life-affirming moments as a team. Thank you, Dave."
Formative Years
Brought into the world into a one-parent family in Chester in 1959, Ball was put up for adoption when he was 18 months of age.
He was raised in Blackpool with his new family Donald and Brenda Ball, who altered his first name from Paul to David, together with his sibling his sister, who was also adopted.
He met Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both learning fine arts. Fuelled by a mutual passion of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and promptly recorded an EP.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an distinctive combination: Ball was the quiet musician, hunched over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all glitter and eye-liner; but they achieved a rare creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with electronic instruments after viewing Kraftwerk appear on a television program a popular series, and started to marry moody electronic sounds to the catchy tunes Almond was composing.
Their signature song became the United Kingdom's second most popular song of 1981, selling millions of copies worldwide. Alongside hits by other artists, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it helped paved the way for the synth-pop sound of the 80s.
The track was also featured on their first album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which spawned two further high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the record up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which reached at the second position in 1982.
Professional Journey
Fame had its upsides. "I loved being able to purchase my initial property, having money and exploring, which makes me sound like a Miss World," Ball not long ago shared with a publication.
But it also caused challenges. "Newfound wealth meant we could purchase newfound drugs to relieve the monotony" of press appearances and TV performances, Ball said.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a valid cause, because it applies for so many musicians."
During the party-filled existence, the pair were also growing distant, but they succeeded to create a follow-up memorable record - the unconventional, edgy and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out one more album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band to focus on other projects.
Almond went on to have a successful individual path, featuring the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who combined acid house with ambient pop over a enduring partnership.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, releasing the charting album Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following another hiatus, they reappeared in 2018, releasing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was supposed to be a final performance at the large venue on 30 September, that year.
Yet, they stayed together, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.
Ball lately described the duo's upcoming release as a tribute to the NYC nightlife they visited while recording their initial records.
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 hospital because I was on pain medication," he explained to a music magazine.
"Our latest tracks are a electronic representation of the sounds in my mind from those days.
"In parallel, it's about the experiences me and Marc got up to in the 80s."
The last versions were completed only days before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for release in the spring of 2026.
