The talented musician, one half of the innovative 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Together with singer Marc Almond, the team scored 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 later founded the innovative techno group The Grid, who achieved chart success with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball died calmly in his rest at his home in London on October 22, just weeks after playing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in the Thames-side town.
Health Struggles
At that show, Ball appeared in a mobility chair, as he had for the last two years, after a period of ill-health.
"I ended up injure myself quite a bit," he stated in 2023. "I broke spinal bones in my spine and fractured about multiple ribs and broke my arm."
Following contracting pneumonia and suffering from blood poisoning, he was put in an induced coma and remained in hospital for half a year.
However, he had been in "a great place emotionally" over the warmer months, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, titled the upcoming Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication next year.
"He was concentrated and very pleased with the new album that we actually finished only a few days ago," stated the singer in a heartfelt message.
"It's so sad 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 felt that it was a masterpiece."
Tributes
Almond described his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant musical genius", adding: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased 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."
Richard Norris from The Grid, shared his condolences, remembering Ball's "constant humor" and "unwavering friendship".
"Being in a duo with someone is different from joining a band, the connection is incredibly close," he added.
"That's how it was with us. We went through so many extraordinary, incredible, memorable moments as a team. Thank you, Dave."
Formative Years
Brought into the world 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 grew up in Blackpool with his new family Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his first name from Paul to his adopted name, alongside his younger sister Susan, who was similarly welcomed.
He encountered Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both learning art. Fuelled by a shared love of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the very year, and promptly recorded an extended play.
Creative Collaboration
The pair were an distinctive combination: Ball was the reserved technician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all sparkle and makeup; but they attained a rare musical alchemy.
Ball had developed a interest with synthesizers after viewing Kraftwerk appear on BBC program Tomorrow's World, and started to combine dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.
Their signature song became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling song of 1981, shifting 21 million copies globally. Alongside hits by other artists, Human League and electronic acts, it helped cleared the path for the electronic music style of the 80s.
The song was also featured on their full-length debut, their initial LP, which spawned two additional high-charting hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the album up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at the second position in the following year.
Professional Journey
Success had its benefits. "I enjoyed being able to purchase my initial property, having financial security and travelling, which might seem like a beauty queen," Ball not long ago told with a music magazine.
But it also caused problems. "Newfound wealth allowed we could purchase 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 good reason, because it works for so many musicians."
During the party-filled existence, the pair were also drifting apart, but they managed to produce a follow-up memorable record - the wayward, edgy and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out another LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the group to focus on other projects.
Almond went on to have a successful individual path, featuring the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who combined acid house with ambient pop over a long-lasting collaboration.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, releasing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following another hiatus, they reappeared in recent years, issuing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was supposed to be a farewell show at the O2 Arena on 30 September, that year.
However, they remained together, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.
Ball lately characterized the band's new album as a homage to the New York club scene they visited while recording their initial records.
He added that his time in medical care had influenced the group's music.
"I experienced strange recollections when I was coming and going of hospital because I was on morphine," he told a publication.
"The new songs are a digital reflection of the sounds in my mind from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the times me and Marc got up to in the 1980s."
The final mixes were completed only a short time before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for release in Spring 2026.
