The talented musician, one half of the pioneering 1980s synth-pop 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' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record their initial full-length release is regarded as a seminal work of electronic music.
He later founded the pioneering electronic act The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with their 1994 single Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully in his sleep at his home in London on Wednesday 22 October, just weeks after performing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in the Thames-side town.
Recent Health Challenges
During that performance, Ball appeared in a wheelchair, as he had for the last two years, after a spate of ill-health.
"I managed to damage myself significantly," he stated in a recent interview. "I fractured spinal bones in my spine and cracked about five ribs and broke my arm."
Following catching pneumonia and developing blood poisoning, he was put in an induced coma and stayed in the hospital for seven months.
Nevertheless, he had been in "high spirits mentally" over the warmer months, as he was developing a fresh record with Almond, called Danceteria, which is set for release next year.
"He was focused and very pleased with the latest project that we actually completed only a short time ago," said the vocalist in a heartfelt message.
"It's truly heartbreaking as 2026 was completely planned to be such an positive year for him, and I take some solace from the fact that he listened to the finished record and felt that it was a masterpiece."
Tributes
Almond described his bandmate as "an exceptionally talented musical genius", adding: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our body of work.
"Thank you Dave for being an significant part of my life and for the music you gave me. I couldn'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".
"Being in a duo with someone is different from joining a band, the bond is very tight," he added.
"That was the case with us. We went through so many remarkable, extraordinary, memorable moments together. Thank you, Dave."
Formative Years
Born into a one-parent family in the city of Chester in 1959, Ball was given up for adoption when he was 18 months old.
He was raised in Blackpool with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his first name from Paul to his adopted name, together with his younger sister Susan, who was similarly welcomed.
He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in the late 70s, where they were both studying art. Fuelled by a mutual passion of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and promptly produced an extended play.
Creative Collaboration
The pair were an unusual pairing: Ball was the reserved musician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant showman, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they achieved a rare creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with synthesizers after viewing Kraftwerk perform on BBC program Tomorrow's World, and began to marry moody electronic sounds to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second biggest-selling single of 1981, selling millions of copies worldwide. Together with hits by other artists, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it helped paved the way for the synth-pop sound of the 80s.
The track was also featured on their first album, their initial LP, which produced two further high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the album up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at number two in 1982.
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 beauty queen," Ball recently told with a music magazine.
But it also presented challenges. "Sudden riches meant we could purchase newfound drugs to alleviate the monotony" of press appearances and TV performances, Ball said.
"I know that's a common saying, but it's a truism for a good reason, because it applies for so many musicians."
Amidst the party-filled existence, the pair were also growing distant, but they succeeded to create a second classic album - the wayward, tense and aptly-titled 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 individual path, including the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who mixed dance music with ambient pop over a enduring collaboration.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell came back together in 2001, producing the Top 40 album Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following another hiatus, they reappeared in recent years, issuing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was intended to be a final performance at the O2 Arena on September 30, that year.
Yet, they stayed together, recording their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.
Ball lately described the band's upcoming release as a tribute to the New York club scene they visited while making their first two albums.
He added that his period in medical care had influenced the band's sound.
"I experienced strange recollections 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 digital reflection of the noises in my head from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the times me and Marc got up to in the 80s."
The final mixes were finished only days before Ball died. It is scheduled for launch in the spring of 2026.
