The talented musician, a key member of the pioneering 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Together with vocalist Marc Almond, the duo achieved a global success with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their debut album their initial full-length release is considered a seminal work of electronic music.
He later founded the innovative electronic act The Grid, who secured chart success with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball died peacefully in his rest at his home in London on Wednesday 22 October, just weeks after performing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in Henley-on-Thames.
Recent Health Challenges
At that show, Ball performed in a wheelchair, as he had for the previous couple of years, following a spate of ill-health.
"I managed to damage myself significantly," he stated in a recent interview. "I broke lower vertebrae in my back and cracked about multiple ribs and fractured my arm."
Following contracting a lung infection and suffering from sepsis, he was put in an induced coma and remained in the hospital for seven months.
Nevertheless, he had been in "high spirits mentally" during the warmer months, as he was developing a new album with Almond, titled the upcoming Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication in the coming year.
"He was focused and very pleased with the new album that we actually finished only a short time ago," said the singer in a heartfelt message.
"It's truly heartbreaking as 2026 was all set to be such an uplifting time for him, and I find comfort from the fact that he heard the finished record and believed that it was a masterpiece."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond referred to his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant musical genius", stating: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our body of work.
"Many thanks Dave for being an significant part of my life and for the music you created with me. I couldn'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".
"Forming a duo with someone is distinct from joining a group, the connection is very tight," he added.
"That was the case with us. We went through so many remarkable, extraordinary, memorable experiences together. Many thanks, Dave."
Formative Years
Born into a one-parent family in Chester in the late 50s, Ball was given up for adoption when he was 18 months of age.
He was raised in Blackpool with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who altered his first name from Paul to his adopted name, together with his sibling Susan, who was similarly welcomed.
He encountered Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both studying fine arts. Fuelled by a shared love of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and quickly produced an extended play.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an distinctive combination: Ball was the reserved musician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a charismatic showman, all glitter and makeup; but they achieved a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had developed a fascination with synthesizers after viewing Kraftwerk appear on BBC program a popular series, and started to combine moody electronic sounds to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.
Their signature song became the UK's second most popular single of the early 80s, selling 21 million copies worldwide. Together with successful tracks by other artists, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it helped paved the way for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The track was also featured on their first album, their initial LP, which spawned two additional top five singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the album up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which peaked at the second position in the following year.
Career Highlights
Fame had its upsides. "I enjoyed being able to purchase my first home, having money and exploring, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball not long ago told with a music magazine.
But it also presented challenges. "Sudden riches allowed we could purchase newfound drugs to relieve the boredom" of press appearances and television shows, Ball said.
"I realize that's a common saying, but it's a truism for a good reason, because it works for so many bands."
Amidst the party-filled existence, the duo were also growing distant, but they succeeded to create a second classic album - the unconventional, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out one more album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group to focus on other projects.
Almond proceeded to have a prosperous individual path, featuring the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who mixed dance music with melodic sounds over a long-lasting collaboration.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell came back together in the early 2000s, releasing the charting album Cruelty Without Beauty.
After a further break, they returned in 2018, issuing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was intended to be a final performance at the large venue on 30 September, 2018.
However, they remained together, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic restrictions.
Ball lately described the band's upcoming release as a tribute to the NYC nightlife they frequented while recording their initial records.
He noted that his time in hospital had shaped the band's sound.
"I experienced strange recollections when I was in and out of hospital because I was on morphine," he explained to a music magazine.
"The new songs are a digital reflection of the noises in my head from that time.
"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences me and Marc got up to in the 80s."
The final mixes were completed only a short time before Ball died. It is due for launch in Spring 2026.
