The talented musician, a key member of the pioneering 1980s synth-pop band Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the team scored 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 synth-pop.
He subsequently formed the pioneering electronic act The Grid, who achieved chart success with their 1994 single the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his rest at his residence in London on Wednesday 22 October, just weeks after playing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in Henley-on-Thames.
Recent Health Challenges
At that show, Ball performed in a mobility chair, as he had for the previous couple of years, following a spate of ill-health.
"I ended up injure myself quite a bit," he stated in a recent interview. "I broke lower vertebrae in my spine and fractured about five ribs and fractured my arm."
Following catching pneumonia and developing sepsis, he was put in an induced coma and stayed in the hospital for seven months.
However, he had been in "a great place mentally" during the summer, as he was developing a new album with Almond, called the upcoming Danceteria, which is set for publication next year.
"He was focused and so happy with the new album 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 positive 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."
Tributes
Almond described his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", stating: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our legacy.
"Thank you Dave for being an significant part of my existence and for the music you gave me. I couldn't be where I am without you."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, also paid tribute, remembering Ball's "constant humor" and "steadfast support".
"Forming a partnership with someone is distinct from joining a group, the bond is very tight," he added.
"That was the case with us. We experienced so many remarkable, incredible, life-affirming moments together. Many thanks, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a single-parent household in the city of Chester in 1959, Ball was put up for adoption when he was a year and a half old.
He was raised in the seaside town with adoptive parents his caregivers, who changed his given name from Paul to his adopted name, alongside his younger sister his sister, who was similarly welcomed.
He encountered Almond at an art college in the late 70s, where they were both learning art. Inspired by a mutual passion of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and quickly recorded an extended play.
Musical Partnership
The duo were an distinctive combination: Ball was the quiet musician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all sparkle and makeup; but they achieved a rare musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with synthesizers after viewing the band Kraftwerk appear on a television program a popular series, and began to marry dark electronica to the catchy tunes Almond was composing.
Their signature song became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling single of the early 80s, selling 21 million copies globally. Alongside successful tracks by other artists, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it contributed to paved the way for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.
The song was also included on their first album, their initial LP, which produced two additional high-charting hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the record up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which reached at the second position in the following year.
Career Highlights
Fame had its upsides. "I loved being able to afford my first home, having money and travelling, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball recently shared with a music magazine.
But it also presented challenges. "Newfound wealth meant we could afford 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 cliché for a good reason, because it works for so many bands."
Amidst the party-filled existence, the pair were also growing distant, but they managed to produce a follow-up classic album - the wayward, edgy and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released one more album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band to focus on individual endeavors.
Almond went on to have a successful individual path, featuring the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who mixed acid house with ambient pop over a enduring collaboration.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell came back together in 2001, producing the charting album Cruelty Without Beauty.
After another hiatus, they reappeared in recent years, releasing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was intended to be a final performance at the O2 Arena on 30 September, that year.
Yet, they remained active, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.
Ball lately characterized the duo's new album as a tribute to the NYC nightlife they frequented while recording their initial records.
He added that his time in hospital had influenced the band's sound.
"I had unusual memories when I was coming and going of hospital because I was on morphine," he told a music magazine.
"Our latest tracks are a digital reflection of the sounds in my mind from that time.
"Simultaneously, it's about the times me and Marc had in the 80s."
The final mixes were finished only a short time before Ball passed away. It is due for launch in the spring of 2026.
