The talented musician, one half of the innovative 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the team achieved a worldwide hit with their version of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a classic of synth-pop.
He subsequently formed the innovative techno group The Grid, who secured chart success with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully in his rest at his home in London on Wednesday 22 October, just weeks after playing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in the Thames-side town.
Health Struggles
At that performance, Ball appeared in a mobility chair, as he had for the last two years, after a spate of ill-health.
"I managed to injure myself significantly," he commented in a recent interview. "I broke lower vertebrae in my back and cracked about multiple ribs and broke my wrist."
After catching pneumonia and suffering from blood poisoning, he was placed in an medically-induced sleep and remained in the hospital for seven months.
However, he had been in "high spirits mentally" during the warmer months, as he worked on a new album with Almond, called Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication next year.
"He was concentrated and so happy with the new album that we actually completed only a short time ago," said the vocalist 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 fact that he listened to the finished record and believed that it was a masterpiece."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond described his bandmate as "a wonderfully brilliant musical genius", adding: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our legacy.
"Many thanks Dave for being an immense part of my life and for the songs you gave me. I wouldn't be where I am without you."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, also paid tribute, recalling Ball's "constant humor" and "unwavering friendship".
"Forming a duo with someone is different from joining a group, the bond is incredibly close," he continued.
"That's how it was with us. We experienced so many remarkable, extraordinary, life-affirming experiences together. Many thanks, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a single-parent household in the city of Chester in the late 50s, Ball was put up for adoption when he was 18 months old.
He grew up in Blackpool with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his first name from Paul to his adopted name, alongside his sibling his sister, who was also adopted.
He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in the late 70s, where they were both learning fine arts. Inspired by a shared love of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the same year, and quickly produced an extended play.
Creative Collaboration
The pair were an distinctive combination: Ball was the reserved technician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they achieved a unique creative synergy.
Ball had developed a fascination with electronic instruments after viewing Kraftwerk appear on a television science show Tomorrow's World, and began to combine dark electronica to the catchy tunes Almond was composing.
Their signature song became the UK's second most popular song of 1981, selling 21 million copies globally. Alongside successful tracks by Gary Numan, Human League and Ultravox, it helped paved the path for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The track was also featured on their first album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which spawned two further high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the album up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which peaked at number two in the following year.
Career Highlights
Success had its upsides. "I loved being able to afford my first home, having money and travelling, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball not long ago told with a music magazine.
But it also presented challenges. "Newfound wealth allowed we could purchase newfound drugs to relieve the monotony" of press appearances and TV performances, Ball said.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a good reason, because it works for so many bands."
During the party-filled existence, the pair were also growing distant, but they managed to produce a second memorable record - the unconventional, edgy and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released one more LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band to focus on individual endeavors.
Almond went on to have a prosperous individual path, including the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who combined dance music with ambient pop over a enduring collaboration.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell came back together in 2001, producing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following a further break, they returned in recent years, releasing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was intended to be a farewell show at the O2 Arena on 30 September, 2018.
However, they remained together, recording their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.
Ball lately described the band's upcoming release as a homage to the NYC nightlife they visited while recording their initial records.
He added that his period in medical care 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 explained to a publication.
"The new songs are a electronic representation of the noises in my mind from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the times we had in the 1980s."
The final mixes were completed only a short time before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for release in Spring 2026.
