The talented musician, one half of the groundbreaking 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the pair achieved a global success with their version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a classic of synth-pop.
He later founded the pioneering electronic act The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly 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 Henley-on-Thames.
Recent Health Challenges
During that show, Ball appeared in a wheelchair, as he had for the last two years, after a period of ill-health.
"I ended up damage myself significantly," he commented in 2023. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my back and cracked about multiple ribs and fractured my arm."
Following contracting a lung infection and suffering from blood poisoning, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and remained in the hospital for half a year.
Nevertheless, 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 in the coming year.
"He was focused and very pleased with the new album that we literally completed only a few days ago," stated the singer 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 listened to the completed album and felt that it was a great piece of work."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond referred to his bandmate as "an exceptionally talented creative mastermind", adding: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our legacy.
"Thank you Dave for being an immense part of my existence and for the music you gave me. I couldn't be where I am without you."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, also paid tribute, remembering Ball's "constant humor" and "steadfast support".
"Forming a duo with someone is different from joining a band, the connection is incredibly close," he continued.
"That's how it was with us. We experienced so many extraordinary, incredible, life-affirming experiences together. Many thanks, Dave."
Formative Years
Born into a single-parent household in Chester in the late 50s, Ball was put up for adoption when he was a year and a half old.
He was raised in the seaside town with adoptive parents his caregivers, who changed his given name from Paul to his adopted name, alongside his sibling his sister, who was similarly welcomed.
He met Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both studying art. Inspired by a shared love of Northern Soul, they established Soft Cell the same year, and quickly recorded an EP.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an distinctive pairing: Ball was the quiet musician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they achieved a rare musical alchemy.
Ball had developed a fascination with synthesizers after watching the band Kraftwerk perform on a television science show a popular series, and started to combine dark electronica to the catchy tunes Almond was composing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second most popular song of 1981, shifting 21 million units worldwide. Together with successful tracks by Gary Numan, Human League and Ultravox, it helped cleared the path for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The song was also included on their first album, their initial LP, which produced two additional high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the record up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at the second position in the following year.
Professional Journey
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 recently told with a publication.
But it also presented problems. "Sudden riches meant we could purchase substances to alleviate the boredom" of press appearances and television shows, Ball explained.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a valid cause, because it works for so many bands."
During the hedonistic lifestyle, the duo were also drifting apart, but they managed to create a follow-up memorable record - the wayward, edgy and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out one more LP, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the band to focus on other projects.
Almond went on to have a prosperous solo career, including the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who mixed dance music with ambient pop over a enduring collaboration.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell came back together in the early 2000s, producing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following a further hiatus, they returned in recent years, issuing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was intended to be a farewell show at the O2 Arena on September 30, that year.
However, they stayed together, recording their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.
Ball recently described the duo's new album as a tribute to the New York club scene they frequented while recording their initial records.
He added that his period in hospital had influenced the band's sound.
"I had strange recollections when I was in and out of hospital because I was on morphine," he told a music magazine.
"The new songs are a digital reflection of the noises in my head from those days.
"In parallel, it's about the experiences we got up to in the 80s."
The last versions were completed only a short time before Ball died. It is due for launch in the spring of 2026.
