The talented musician, one half of the innovative 1980s synth-pop band Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Together with singer Marc Almond, the duo achieved a worldwide hit with their version of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in 1984, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a seminal work of synth-pop.
He subsequently founded the pioneering electronic act The Grid, who secured chart success with 1994's Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully in his rest at his home in London on October 22, only a short time after playing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in the Thames-side town.
Health Struggles
At that show, Ball appeared in a mobility chair, as he had for the previous couple of years, after a period of health issues.
"I managed to damage myself significantly," he stated in a recent interview. "I fractured spinal bones in my back and cracked about multiple ribs and broke my arm."
After catching pneumonia and suffering from sepsis, he was placed in an induced coma and remained in 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 so happy with the latest project that we actually finished only a short time ago," said the singer in a tribute.
"It's truly heartbreaking as 2026 was all set to be such an positive time for him, and I take some solace from the fact that he listened to the finished record and believed that it was a masterpiece."
Tributes
Almond described his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant musical genius", adding: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our body of work.
"Thank you Dave for being an immense aspect of my life and for the music 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".
"Being in a duo with someone is different from being in a band, the bond is very tight," he continued.
"That's how it was with us. We experienced so many extraordinary, incredible, memorable experiences as a team. Thank you, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world 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 of age.
He was raised in Blackpool with adoptive parents his caregivers, who altered his first name from Paul to David, together with his sibling his sister, who was also adopted.
He met Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both learning fine arts. Inspired by a shared love of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the very year, and quickly produced an EP.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an distinctive pairing: Ball was the quiet technician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a charismatic showman, all glitter and makeup; but they achieved a rare creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with synthesizers after watching the band Kraftwerk perform on a television science show Tomorrow's World, and began to combine dark electronica to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second biggest-selling single of the early 80s, shifting 21 million units globally. Alongside hits by other artists, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it contributed to cleared the path for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The song was also included on their first album, their initial LP, which spawned two additional high-charting hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the record up with the separate release, Torch, which peaked at number two in the following year.
Professional Journey
Success had its benefits. "I loved being able to afford my first home, having money and travelling, which makes me sound like a Miss World," Ball recently told with a music magazine.
But it also presented problems. "Newfound wealth meant we could afford substances to relieve the boredom" of media interviews and TV performances, Ball said.
"I realize that's a common saying, but it's a cliché for a valid cause, because it applies for so many bands."
Amidst the party-filled existence, the duo were also growing distant, but they managed to create a second classic album - the wayward, edgy and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released another LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band to concentrate on other projects.
Almond proceeded 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 combined dance music with ambient pop over a enduring partnership.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, releasing the Top 40 album Cruelty Without Beauty.
After a further hiatus, they returned in 2018, releasing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was intended to be a final performance at the large venue on 30 September, that year.
Yet, they remained active, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic restrictions.
Ball recently characterized the band's new album as a homage to the NYC nightlife they frequented while recording their initial records.
He added that his period in medical care had influenced the band's sound.
"I had unusual memories when I was in and out of hospital because I was on pain medication," he explained to a music magazine.
"The new songs are a electronic representation of the noises in my mind from those days.
"In parallel, it's about the experiences we had in the 80s."
The final mixes were completed only a short time before Ball died. It is due for launch in the spring of 2026.
