The talented musician, a key member of the innovative 1980s synth-pop duo Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Together with singer Marc Almond, the team scored a worldwide hit with their cover of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in 1984, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a classic of electronic music.
He subsequently formed the pioneering electronic act The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his rest at his residence in London on October 22, only a short time after performing a headline show 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 previous couple of years, after a spate of health issues.
"I ended up damage myself quite a bit," he commented in 2023. "I broke lower vertebrae in my back and cracked about multiple ribs and fractured my arm."
Following contracting a lung infection and developing sepsis, he was placed in an induced coma and remained in hospital for half a year.
Nevertheless, he had been in "a great place emotionally" during the warmer months, as he worked on a new album with Almond, called the upcoming Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication next year.
"He was focused and very pleased with the latest project that we actually completed only a short time ago," stated the singer in a tribute.
"It's truly heartbreaking as 2026 was completely planned to be such an positive time for him, and I find comfort from the fact that he listened to the finished record and believed that it was a masterpiece."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond referred to his bandmate as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", stating: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our body of work.
"Thank you Dave for being an significant 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, also paid tribute, recalling Ball's "constant humor" and "steadfast support".
"Forming a duo with someone is different from being in a group, the connection is very tight," he added.
"That's how it was with us. We experienced so many extraordinary, extraordinary, life-affirming experiences together. Thank you, Dave."
Formative Years
Born into a one-parent family in Chester in 1959, Ball was put up for adoption when he was a year and a half of age.
He was raised in Blackpool with his new family his caregivers, who altered his first 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 fine arts. Fuelled by a shared love of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the very year, and quickly produced an EP.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an distinctive pairing: Ball was the quiet musician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic showman, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they achieved a rare creative synergy.
Ball had developed a interest with synthesizers after viewing Kraftwerk perform on a television science show a popular series, and started to combine dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.
Their signature song became the United Kingdom's second most popular song of the early 80s, shifting 21 million units worldwide. Alongside successful tracks by other artists, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it helped paved the path for the synth-pop sound of the 80s.
The track was also featured on their first album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which produced two further high-charting hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the record up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at number two in 1982.
Career Highlights
Fame had its upsides. "I loved being able to purchase my initial property, having financial security and travelling, which makes me sound like a Miss World," Ball not long ago told with a publication.
But it also caused challenges. "Newfound wealth allowed we could afford substances to alleviate the boredom" of media interviews and television shows, Ball explained.
"I know that's a common saying, but it's a truism for a good reason, because it works for so many musicians."
During the hedonistic lifestyle, the duo were also drifting apart, but they managed to produce a second classic album - the unconventional, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released another album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the band to concentrate on individual endeavors.
Almond went on to have a successful individual path, 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 long-lasting 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 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 large venue on September 30, that year.
However, they remained together, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.
Ball lately characterized the duo's upcoming release as a homage to the New York club scene they frequented 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 the 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 head from those days.
"In parallel, it's about the experiences me and Marc got up to in the 1980s."
The final mixes were finished only days before Ball died. It is scheduled for launch in Spring 2026.
