The talented musician, one half of the pioneering 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the team scored a worldwide hit with their version of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in 1984, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a seminal work of electronic music.
He later founded the pioneering electronic act The Grid, who achieved popular acclaim with their 1994 single Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his rest at his residence in London on Wednesday 22 October, only a short time after performing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in the Thames-side town.
Health Struggles
At that show, Ball performed in a mobility chair, as he had for the previous couple of years, following a period of ill-health.
"I ended up injure myself significantly," he commented in 2023. "I broke lower vertebrae in my spine and fractured about multiple ribs and fractured my arm."
After catching pneumonia and developing blood poisoning, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and stayed in the hospital for half a year.
However, he had been in "high spirits mentally" during the summer, as he was developing a fresh record with Almond, called the upcoming Danceteria, which is set for publication in the coming year.
"He was focused and so happy with the latest project that we literally finished only a few days ago," said 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 take some solace from the knowledge that he listened to the completed album and believed that it was a masterpiece."
Tributes
Almond described his collaborator as "an exceptionally talented creative mastermind", stating: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our body of work.
"Many thanks Dave for being an significant part of my life and for the songs you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without you."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, shared his condolences, remembering Ball's "constant humor" and "unwavering friendship".
"Forming a duo with someone is distinct from being in a group, the connection is very tight," he continued.
"That was the case with us. We went through 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 a year and a half old.
He grew up in the seaside town with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his given name from Paul to David, alongside his sibling his sister, who was similarly welcomed.
He encountered Almond at an art college in the late 70s, where they were both studying fine arts. Fuelled by a shared love of Northern Soul, they established Soft Cell the same year, and quickly produced an extended play.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an distinctive pairing: Ball was the reserved musician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all glitter and eye-liner; but they attained a rare musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with synthesizers after viewing Kraftwerk appear on a television program a popular series, and started to combine dark electronica to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.
Their signature song became the UK's second biggest-selling song of 1981, selling millions of units worldwide. Together with successful tracks by other artists, Human League and electronic acts, it helped cleared the way for the electronic music style of the 80s.
The song was also included on their first album, their initial LP, which produced two additional high-charting hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the record up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which reached at number two in 1982.
Career Highlights
Fame had its upsides. "I loved being able to purchase my initial property, having money and travelling, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball recently told with a music magazine.
But it also caused problems. "Newfound wealth meant we could purchase newfound drugs to relieve the monotony" of media interviews and TV performances, Ball said.
"I know that's a common saying, but it's a truism for a good reason, because it works for so many musicians."
Amidst the hedonistic lifestyle, 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 released one more album, 1984's 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 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 long-lasting partnership.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell came back together in the early 2000s, producing the charting album Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following another hiatus, they reappeared in recent years, releasing 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 September 30, that year.
Yet, they stayed together, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.
Ball lately described the duo's new album as a homage to the New York club scene they visited while recording their first two albums.
He noted that his period in hospital had influenced the group's music.
"I experienced strange recollections when I was coming and going of the hospital because I was on morphine," he told a publication.
"The new songs are a digital reflection of the sounds in my mind from those days.
"In parallel, it's about the times me and Marc got up to in the 80s."
The last versions were completed only days before Ball died. It is due for launch in the spring of 2026.
