The talented musician, one half of the groundbreaking 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Alongside vocalist Marc Almond, the team achieved a global success with their version of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record their initial full-length release is considered a classic of synth-pop.
He subsequently formed the innovative electronic act The Grid, who achieved chart success with their 1994 single Swamp Thing.
Ball died calmly in his sleep at his home in London on Wednesday 22 October, only a short time after playing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in the Thames-side town.
Health Struggles
During that show, Ball appeared in a mobility chair, as he had for the last two years, following a spate of health issues.
"I managed to damage myself quite a bit," he stated in 2023. "I broke lower vertebrae in my spine and cracked about multiple ribs and broke my wrist."
Following catching a lung infection and developing sepsis, he was placed in an induced coma and remained in hospital for seven months.
However, he had been in "a great place mentally" over the warmer months, as he was developing a fresh record with Almond, called Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication in the coming year.
"He was focused and very pleased with the latest project that we literally finished only a few days ago," stated the singer in a tribute.
"It's so sad as 2026 was completely planned 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."
Tributes
Almond described his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", adding: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our legacy.
"Thank you Dave for being an significant part of my existence and for the music you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without you."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, shared his condolences, remembering Ball's "constant humor" and "unwavering friendship".
"Being in a duo with someone is distinct from being in a band, the bond is very tight," he continued.
"That's how it was with us. We experienced so many remarkable, incredible, life-affirming experiences together. Many thanks, Dave."
Formative Years
Brought into the world into a one-parent family in Chester in 1959, Ball was given up for adoption when he was 18 months of age.
He was raised in the seaside town 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 met Almond at an art college in the late 70s, where they were both learning art. Inspired by a shared love of Northern Soul, they established Soft Cell the same year, and quickly recorded an extended play.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an unusual pairing: Ball was the reserved musician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant showman, all glitter and makeup; but they achieved a unique creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with electronic instruments after watching the band Kraftwerk perform on a television program a popular series, and began to marry dark electronica to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second most popular song of the early 80s, shifting millions of copies globally. Alongside successful tracks by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it helped paved the way for the electronic music style of the 80s.
The track was also featured on their first album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which spawned two additional top five singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the album up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at the second position in 1982.
Career Highlights
Success had its benefits. "I enjoyed being able to afford my initial property, having financial security and travelling, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball recently told with a music magazine.
But it also presented challenges. "Newfound wealth allowed we could afford newfound drugs to relieve the boredom" of media interviews and TV performances, Ball explained.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a valid cause, because it works for so many bands."
Amidst the party-filled existence, the pair were also drifting apart, but they succeeded to create a second classic album - the wayward, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out another album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band to focus on other projects.
Almond went on to have a prosperous individual path, featuring the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who mixed acid house with ambient pop over a long-lasting partnership.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell came back together in the early 2000s, releasing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.
After another hiatus, they reappeared in 2018, releasing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was supposed to be a farewell show at the O2 Arena on 30 September, that year.
However, they stayed active, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.
Ball recently described 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 hospital had influenced the group's music.
"I experienced 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 electronic representation of the sounds in my head from that time.
"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences me and Marc had in the 80s."
The last versions were completed only a short time before Ball died. It is scheduled for launch in the spring of 2026.
