The talented musician, a key member of the groundbreaking 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Together with singer Marc Almond, the team achieved a worldwide hit with their version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record their initial full-length release is regarded as a classic of electronic music.
He subsequently formed the innovative techno group The Grid, who secured chart success with their 1994 single the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball died calmly in his rest at his residence in London on Wednesday 22 October, only a short time after playing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival 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 period of health issues.
"I ended up injure myself significantly," he commented in 2023. "I fractured spinal bones in my back and fractured about multiple ribs and broke my wrist."
Following contracting pneumonia and suffering from blood poisoning, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and remained in the hospital for seven months.
Nevertheless, he had been in "a great place mentally" over the warmer months, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is set for release in the coming year.
"He was focused and very pleased with the latest project that we actually completed only a short time ago," stated the vocalist in a heartfelt message.
"It's truly heartbreaking as 2026 was all set to be such an uplifting year for him, and I find comfort from the knowledge that he listened to the finished record and felt that it was a great piece of work."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond described his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant musical genius", adding: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our legacy.
"Many thanks Dave for being an significant part of my life and for the music you gave me. I wouldn't be where I am without you."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, also paid tribute, remembering Ball's "endless laughter" and "unwavering friendship".
"Being in a partnership with someone is different from being in a band, the connection is very tight," he continued.
"That was the case with us. We experienced so many remarkable, incredible, life-affirming experiences as a team. Thank you, Dave."
Early Life
Born into a one-parent family in Chester in 1959, Ball was put up for adoption when he was a year and a half of age.
He was raised in Blackpool with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who altered his given name from Paul to David, together with his younger sister his sister, who was also adopted.
He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic 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 recorded an extended play.
Musical Partnership
The duo were an unusual pairing: Ball was the quiet musician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic showman, all glitter and eye-liner; but they attained a unique creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with electronic instruments after viewing the band Kraftwerk appear on a television program Tomorrow's World, and began to marry moody electronic sounds to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling song of 1981, shifting millions of units worldwide. Alongside successful tracks by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it helped paved the way for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The song was also featured on their full-length debut, their initial LP, which produced two additional top five 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.
Career Highlights
Fame had its upsides. "I loved being able to purchase my initial property, having financial security and travelling, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball not long ago shared with a music magazine.
But it also caused challenges. "Newfound wealth meant we could purchase newfound drugs to relieve the boredom" of press appearances and TV performances, Ball said.
"I know that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a good reason, because it works for so many bands."
Amidst the hedonistic lifestyle, the duo were also drifting apart, but they succeeded to produce a follow-up classic album - the unconventional, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released another LP, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group to concentrate on individual endeavors.
Almond proceeded to have a successful individual path, including 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 2001, releasing the charting album Cruelty Without Beauty.
After a further break, they reappeared in 2018, releasing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was intended to be a farewell show at the O2 Arena on September 30, 2018.
However, they stayed together, recording their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic restrictions.
Ball recently described the duo's upcoming release as a homage to the New York club scene they frequented while making their initial records.
He added that his time in medical care had influenced the group's music.
"I experienced strange recollections when I was in and out of the hospital because I was on pain medication," he explained to a publication.
"The new songs are a electronic representation of the sounds in my head from those days.
"In parallel, it's about the times we had in the 80s."
The final mixes were completed only days before Ball died. It is scheduled for launch in the spring of 2026.
