The talented musician, a key member of the innovative 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Together with vocalist Marc Almond, the team scored a global success with their version of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in 1984, and their debut album their initial full-length release is considered a classic of synth-pop.
He later formed the innovative electronic act The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully in his rest at his residence in London on Wednesday 22 October, just weeks after performing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in the Thames-side town.
Recent Health Challenges
At that performance, Ball performed in a wheelchair, as he had for the last two years, after a spate of ill-health.
"I managed to injure myself quite a bit," he commented in 2023. "I fractured spinal bones in my spine and cracked about multiple ribs and broke my arm."
After catching a lung infection and suffering from sepsis, he was placed in an medically-induced sleep and stayed in hospital for half a year.
Nevertheless, he had been in "high spirits mentally" over the summer, as he was developing a fresh record with Almond, titled the upcoming Danceteria, which is scheduled for release next year.
"He was focused and very pleased with the new album that we literally completed only a few days ago," said the singer in a tribute.
"It's so sad as 2026 was all set to be such an uplifting year for him, and I take some solace from the knowledge that he heard the completed album and felt that it was a masterpiece."
Tributes
Almond described his bandmate as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", stating: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our body of work.
"Many thanks 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."
Richard Norris from The Grid, also paid tribute, remembering Ball's "constant humor" and "steadfast support".
"Forming a partnership with someone is different from being in a band, the bond is incredibly close," he continued.
"That was the case with us. We went through so many remarkable, incredible, life-affirming experiences together. Many thanks, Dave."
Formative Years
Born into a single-parent household in Chester in 1959, Ball was given up for adoption when he was a year and a half of age.
He was raised in Blackpool with adoptive parents his caregivers, who altered his first name from Paul to his adopted name, together with his younger sister his sister, who was similarly welcomed.
He met Almond at an art college in the late 70s, where they were both learning fine arts. Inspired by a mutual passion of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and quickly produced an extended play.
Creative Collaboration
The duo were an distinctive pairing: Ball was the reserved musician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant showman, all glitter and eye-liner; but they achieved a rare creative synergy.
Ball had developed a interest with electronic instruments after viewing Kraftwerk perform on a television science show Tomorrow's World, and began to marry dark electronica to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second most popular single of the early 80s, shifting 21 million copies globally. Together with hits by other artists, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it helped paved the path for the electronic music style of the 80s.
The track was also featured on their full-length debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which spawned two further high-charting hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the record up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which peaked at number two in 1982.
Career Highlights
Fame had its benefits. "I loved being able to purchase my first home, having financial security and travelling, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball recently shared with a music magazine.
But it also presented challenges. "Sudden riches meant we could purchase newfound drugs to alleviate the boredom" of media interviews and TV performances, Ball explained.
"I know that's a common saying, but it's a truism for a valid cause, because it works for so many musicians."
During the party-filled existence, the pair were also growing distant, but they managed to produce a second memorable record - the unconventional, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out another LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the group to focus on other projects.
Almond proceeded to have a successful solo career, including the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who combined acid house with ambient pop 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.
After a further hiatus, they returned in recent years, releasing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was intended to be a farewell show at the large venue on September 30, 2018.
However, they stayed together, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.
Ball recently described the band's upcoming release as a tribute to the New York club scene they visited while making their initial records.
He noted that his period in medical care had shaped the band's sound.
"I experienced strange recollections when I was coming and going of the hospital because I was on pain medication," he told a music magazine.
"Our latest tracks are a digital reflection of the noises in my head from that time.
"In parallel, it's about the experiences me and Marc got up to in the 1980s."
The final mixes were finished only a short time before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for launch in the spring of 2026.
