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 singer Marc Almond, the duo achieved a global success with their version of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a classic of synth-pop.
He later founded the innovative techno group The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with their 1994 single Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully in his sleep at his residence in London on Wednesday 22 October, just weeks after playing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in Henley-on-Thames.
Recent Health Challenges
At that show, Ball appeared in a mobility chair, as he had for the previous couple of years, after a spate of ill-health.
"I managed to damage myself quite a bit," he commented in a recent interview. "I broke spinal bones in my spine and fractured about multiple ribs and broke my wrist."
After catching pneumonia and suffering from sepsis, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and stayed in the hospital for half a year.
However, he had been in "a great place mentally" during the summer, as he was developing a new album with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication in the coming year.
"He was concentrated and so happy with the latest project that we actually completed only a few days ago," said the singer in a heartfelt message.
"It's so sad as 2026 was completely planned to be such an uplifting time for him, and I find comfort from the knowledge that he listened to the finished record and believed that it was a masterpiece."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond referred to his collaborator as "an exceptionally talented musical genius", 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 gave me. I wouldn't be where I am without your influence."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, also paid tribute, remembering Ball's "endless laughter" and "unwavering friendship".
"Forming a partnership with someone is different from being in a band, the connection is very tight," he continued.
"That was the case with us. We experienced so many remarkable, extraordinary, life-affirming moments as a team. Many thanks, Dave."
Formative Years
Brought into the world into a one-parent family in the city of Chester in 1959, Ball was put up for adoption when he was 18 months of age.
He was raised in Blackpool with adoptive parents his caregivers, who altered his given name from Paul to David, alongside his sibling Susan, who was also adopted.
He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in the late 70s, where they were both learning art. Inspired by a shared love of Northern Soul, they established Soft Cell the same year, and quickly produced an extended play.
Musical Partnership
The duo were an unusual pairing: Ball was the reserved musician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all sparkle and makeup; but they achieved a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with electronic instruments after viewing the band Kraftwerk perform on BBC science show Tomorrow's World, and began to marry moody electronic sounds to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second biggest-selling song of the early 80s, shifting 21 million copies worldwide. Alongside successful tracks by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it contributed to paved the way for the electronic music style of the 80s.
The track was also included on their first album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which spawned two further top five singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the album up with the separate release, Torch, which peaked at the second position in the following year.
Career Highlights
Fame had its benefits. "I loved being able to purchase my initial property, having money and exploring, which might seem like a beauty queen," Ball recently shared with a publication.
But it also caused challenges. "Sudden riches meant we could afford newfound drugs to alleviate the boredom" of press appearances 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 bands."
Amidst the hedonistic lifestyle, the pair were also growing distant, but they managed to produce a second classic album - the wayward, edgy 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 successful solo career, including the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who combined dance music with melodic sounds over a long-lasting collaboration.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, releasing the Top 40 album Cruelty Without Beauty.
After another hiatus, they reappeared 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 large venue on September 30, that year.
Yet, they remained together, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.
Ball recently described the band's upcoming release as a tribute to the NYC nightlife they frequented while recording their initial records.
He added that his period in medical care had shaped the band's sound.
"I experienced unusual memories when I was coming and going of the hospital because I was on morphine," he explained to a publication.
"Our latest tracks are a electronic representation of the sounds in my mind from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the times we got up to in the 1980s."
The last versions were completed only a short time before Ball died. It is due for launch in Spring 2026.
