The talented musician, one half of the innovative 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Together with vocalist 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 considered a seminal work of electronic music.
He subsequently founded the innovative electronic act The Grid, who achieved popular acclaim with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball died peacefully in his sleep at his residence in London on Wednesday 22 October, only a short time after performing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in Henley-on-Thames.
Recent Health Challenges
During that show, Ball performed in a wheelchair, as he had for the previous couple of years, after a period of ill-health.
"I managed to injure myself quite a bit," he commented in 2023. "I broke lower vertebrae in my back and cracked about five ribs and fractured my wrist."
Following catching pneumonia and suffering from blood poisoning, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and remained in hospital for seven months.
However, he had been in "a great place emotionally" over the warmer months, as he was developing a new album with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is set for release next year.
"He was concentrated and very pleased with the latest project that we literally finished only a few days ago," stated the singer in a heartfelt message.
"It's so sad as 2026 was completely planned to be such an positive time for him, and I find comfort from the fact that he heard the finished record and felt that it was a masterpiece."
Tributes
Almond described his bandmate as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", adding: "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 immense part of my life and for the music you created with me. I wouldn't be where I am without you."
Richard Norris from The Grid, also paid tribute, recalling Ball's "endless laughter" and "unwavering friendship".
"Being in a partnership with someone is different from being in a band, the bond is very tight," he added.
"That's how it was with us. We went through so many remarkable, extraordinary, memorable experiences as a team. Many thanks, 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 old.
He was raised in Blackpool with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his given name from Paul to David, alongside his younger sister Susan, who was similarly welcomed.
He encountered Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both studying fine arts. Inspired by a mutual passion of Northern Soul, they established Soft Cell the very year, and quickly produced an extended play.
Creative Collaboration
The pair were an unusual pairing: Ball was the reserved technician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a charismatic showman, all glitter and makeup; but they achieved a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with electronic instruments after viewing the band Kraftwerk perform on a television program Tomorrow's World, and started to marry moody electronic sounds to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.
Their signature song became the UK's second biggest-selling single of 1981, selling millions of units globally. Alongside hits by other artists, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it helped cleared the path for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The song was also featured on their first album, their initial LP, which spawned two further high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the album up with the separate release, Torch, which peaked at the second position in the following year.
Professional Journey
Success had its upsides. "I enjoyed being able to afford my first home, having financial security and travelling, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball not long ago shared with a publication.
But it also presented challenges. "Newfound wealth allowed we could afford newfound drugs to relieve the boredom" of media interviews and television shows, Ball explained.
"I know that's a common saying, but it's a cliché for a valid cause, because it works for so many musicians."
During the party-filled existence, the pair were also growing distant, but they succeeded to create a second memorable record - the unconventional, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released one more album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band to focus on individual endeavors.
Almond went on to have a successful solo career, featuring the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who combined acid house with melodic sounds over a long-lasting collaboration.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell came back together in 2001, producing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following another hiatus, they returned in recent years, 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 O2 Arena on September 30, 2018.
However, they stayed together, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.
Ball recently described the duo's upcoming release as a tribute to the NYC nightlife they visited while recording their first two albums.
He added that his period in hospital had influenced the band's sound.
"I experienced unusual memories when I was in and out of hospital because I was on morphine," he explained to a music magazine.
"The new songs are a electronic representation of the sounds in my head from that time.
"Simultaneously, it's about the times we got up to in the 1980s."
The last versions were finished only days before Ball passed away. It is due for release in the spring of 2026.
