The talented musician, a key member of the innovative 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Together with singer Marc Almond, the pair achieved a worldwide hit with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a classic of synth-pop.
He subsequently formed the pioneering techno group The Grid, who achieved popular acclaim with their 1994 single the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball died peacefully in his sleep at his home in London on October 22, just weeks after playing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in the Thames-side town.
Health Struggles
At that performance, Ball appeared in a wheelchair, as he had for the previous couple of years, after a period of health issues.
"I managed to damage myself quite a bit," he stated in a recent interview. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my back and fractured about five ribs and broke my wrist."
Following contracting pneumonia and developing blood poisoning, he was put in an induced coma and remained in hospital for seven months.
However, he had been in "a great place emotionally" over the warmer months, as he was developing a new album with Almond, called the upcoming Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication in the coming year.
"He was focused and so happy with the new album that we actually completed only a short time ago," said the vocalist in a heartfelt message.
"It's truly heartbreaking as 2026 was completely planned to be such an uplifting year for him, and I find comfort from the fact that he heard the completed album and felt that it was a great piece of work."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond described his bandmate as "an exceptionally talented musical genius", stating: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our body of work.
"Thank you Dave for being an significant part of my existence and for the songs you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without you."
Richard Norris from The Grid, also paid tribute, recalling Ball's "endless laughter" and "steadfast support".
"Being in a duo with someone is distinct from being in a band, the connection is very tight," he added.
"That was the case with us. We experienced so many extraordinary, extraordinary, memorable moments as a team. Thank you, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world 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 grew up in the seaside town with his new family his caregivers, who altered his given name from Paul to David, together with his younger sister Susan, who was also adopted.
He met Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both studying art. Fuelled by a mutual passion of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and quickly produced an extended play.
Creative Collaboration
The duo were an distinctive combination: Ball was the reserved musician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a charismatic showman, all glitter and eye-liner; but they attained a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with electronic instruments after viewing the band Kraftwerk appear on BBC program a popular series, and started to marry moody electronic sounds to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second biggest-selling single of the early 80s, shifting 21 million copies worldwide. Together with hits by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it helped paved the path for the synth-pop sound of the 80s.
The song was also featured on their full-length debut, their initial LP, which spawned two additional high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the album up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which reached at number two in the following year.
Professional Journey
Success had its upsides. "I enjoyed being able to afford my first home, having financial security and travelling, which might seem like a beauty queen," Ball recently told with a publication.
But it also presented challenges. "Sudden riches allowed we could afford newfound drugs to relieve the monotony" of media interviews and TV performances, Ball said.
"I realize that's a common saying, but it's a truism for a good reason, because it applies for so many musicians."
During the hedonistic lifestyle, the pair were also drifting apart, but they managed to produce a second memorable record - the wayward, edgy and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out another LP, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band to concentrate 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 melodic sounds over a enduring partnership.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell came back together in the early 2000s, producing the charting album Cruelty Without Beauty.
After another hiatus, they reappeared in 2018, releasing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was intended to be a farewell show at the O2 Arena on 30 September, 2018.
However, they stayed together, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.
Ball recently characterized the duo's new album as a homage to the New York club scene they visited while making their first two albums.
He added that his period in medical care had shaped the group's music.
"I experienced strange recollections when I was in and out of the hospital because I was on morphine," he explained to a publication.
"Our latest tracks are a electronic representation of the noises in my mind from that time.
"Simultaneously, it's about the times we had in the 80s."
The last versions were finished only days before Ball passed away. It is due for release in the spring of 2026.
