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 team 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 innovative techno group The Grid, who secured chart success with their 1994 single Swamp Thing.
Ball died peacefully in his sleep at his home in London on October 22, just weeks after performing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in the Thames-side town.
Health Struggles
At that show, Ball performed in a mobility chair, as he had for the previous couple of years, after a spate of ill-health.
"I ended up injure myself quite a bit," he commented in 2023. "I fractured spinal bones in my spine and fractured about five ribs and fractured my wrist."
Following catching pneumonia and suffering from sepsis, he was placed in an medically-induced sleep and remained in hospital for seven months.
Nevertheless, he had been in "high spirits emotionally" during the warmer months, as he worked on a new album with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is set for release in the coming year.
"He was concentrated and so happy with the latest project that we literally completed only a short time ago," said the singer in a heartfelt message.
"It's so sad as 2026 was completely planned to be such an uplifting year for him, and I find comfort from the fact that he listened to the completed album and believed that it was a great piece of work."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond described his bandmate as "a wonderfully brilliant musical genius", adding: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our body of work.
"Many thanks Dave for being an significant part of my existence 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 "constant humor" and "unwavering friendship".
"Being in a partnership with someone is different from being in a group, the bond is very tight," he added.
"That's how it was with us. We experienced so many remarkable, extraordinary, life-affirming experiences as a team. Many thanks, Dave."
Formative Years
Born into a single-parent household in the city of Chester in the late 50s, Ball was given up for adoption when he was 18 months of age.
He grew up in the seaside town with his new family Donald and Brenda Ball, who altered his first name from Paul to his adopted name, together with his sibling his sister, who was similarly welcomed.
He met Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both studying art. Fuelled by a shared love of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the same year, and promptly produced an EP.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an distinctive combination: Ball was the reserved musician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all glitter and makeup; but they attained a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with electronic instruments after watching Kraftwerk perform on a television program a popular series, and began to combine moody electronic sounds to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second biggest-selling song of the early 80s, selling 21 million units globally. Together with hits by other artists, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it contributed to cleared the path for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The track was also included on their first album, their initial LP, which produced two further high-charting hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the album 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 purchase my initial property, having financial security and exploring, which might seem like a beauty queen," Ball not long ago told with a music magazine.
But it also presented challenges. "Sudden riches meant we could purchase substances to relieve the boredom" of media interviews and television shows, Ball said.
"I know that's a common saying, but it's a cliché for a good reason, because it works for so many musicians."
Amidst the party-filled existence, the duo were also growing distant, but they managed to create a follow-up classic album - the unconventional, edgy and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out another LP, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the band to concentrate on other projects.
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 ambient pop over a long-lasting collaboration.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell reunited in 2001, producing the Top 40 album Cruelty Without Beauty.
After another hiatus, they returned in 2018, issuing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was supposed to be a final performance at the large venue on 30 September, 2018.
However, they stayed together, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.
Ball recently described the duo's upcoming release as a tribute to the New York club scene they visited while recording their first two albums.
He noted that his time in medical care had shaped the group's music.
"I had strange recollections when I was coming and going of hospital because I was on pain medication," he told a music magazine.
"The new songs are a digital reflection of the sounds in my head from that time.
"In parallel, it's about the times we got up to in the 80s."
The last versions were finished only a short time before Ball died. It is due for launch in the spring of 2026.
