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 pair scored a worldwide hit with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record their initial full-length release is considered a seminal work of electronic music.
He subsequently formed the pioneering techno group The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with their 1994 single Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his sleep at his home in London on Wednesday 22 October, only a short time after performing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in Henley-on-Thames.
Health Struggles
At that show, Ball appeared in a wheelchair, as he had for the previous couple of years, after a spate of ill-health.
"I managed to injure myself quite a bit," he commented in 2023. "I fractured lower vertebrae 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 the hospital for seven months.
Nevertheless, he had been in "a great place emotionally" over the summer, as he was developing a new album with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is scheduled for release next year.
"He was concentrated and so happy with the latest project that we literally completed only a short time ago," stated the vocalist 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 knowledge that he heard the completed album and believed that it was a great piece of work."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond referred to his bandmate as "an exceptionally talented musical genius", adding: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our legacy.
"Thank you Dave for being an immense part of my life and for the songs you gave me. I wouldn't be where I am without your influence."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, shared his condolences, remembering Ball's "constant humor" and "unwavering friendship".
"Being in a duo with someone is different from being in a group, the connection is incredibly close," he added.
"That was the case with us. We went through so many extraordinary, extraordinary, memorable moments together. Thank you, Dave."
Early Life
Born into a one-parent family in the city of Chester in the late 50s, Ball was put up for adoption when he was a year and a half of age.
He grew up in Blackpool with adoptive parents his caregivers, 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 the late 70s, where they were both learning art. Inspired by a shared love of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and quickly produced an extended play.
Musical Partnership
The duo were an unusual combination: Ball was the reserved musician, hunched over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant showman, all glitter and eye-liner; but they achieved a rare musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with synthesizers after watching Kraftwerk appear on a television science show Tomorrow's World, and started to combine dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.
Their signature song became the UK's second most popular single of the early 80s, shifting millions of units worldwide. Alongside hits by other artists, Human League and Ultravox, it helped paved the way for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The track 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 record up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at the second position in 1982.
Professional Journey
Success had its benefits. "I loved being able to afford my initial property, having financial security and exploring, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball recently told with a music magazine.
But it also presented challenges. "Newfound wealth allowed we could afford newfound drugs to relieve the monotony" of press appearances and TV performances, Ball explained.
"I know that's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a valid cause, because it works for so many musicians."
Amidst the hedonistic lifestyle, the pair were also growing distant, but they managed to produce a second classic album - the wayward, edgy and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out one more album, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the group to focus on other projects.
Almond proceeded to have a prosperous individual path, including the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who combined acid house with melodic sounds over a long-lasting collaboration.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, releasing the Top 40 album Cruelty Without Beauty.
After another hiatus, they reappeared in recent years, releasing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was supposed to be a farewell show at the O2 Arena on September 30, 2018.
However, they stayed together, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.
Ball recently described the band's upcoming release as a tribute to the New York club scene they visited while making their initial records.
He noted that his period in hospital had influenced the group's music.
"I had unusual memories when I was coming and going of hospital because I was on morphine," he explained to a music magazine.
"The new songs are a electronic representation of the noises in my head from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences me and Marc got up to in the 80s."
The last versions were finished only a short time before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for launch in the spring of 2026.
