The talented musician, one half of the pioneering 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the team achieved a worldwide hit with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in 1984, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a classic of electronic music.
He subsequently founded the innovative techno group The Grid, who achieved popular acclaim with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball died peacefully in his sleep at his home in London on Wednesday 22 October, just weeks after performing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in the Thames-side town.
Health Struggles
At that performance, Ball performed in a wheelchair, as he had for the last two years, after a spate of health issues.
"I managed to damage myself significantly," he commented in 2023. "I broke spinal bones in my spine and cracked about five ribs and broke my arm."
Following contracting pneumonia and developing blood poisoning, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and stayed in hospital for seven months.
Nevertheless, he had been in "high spirits emotionally" over the summer, as he was developing a fresh record with Almond, titled the upcoming Danceteria, which is set for publication next year.
"He was concentrated and so happy with the new album that we actually finished only a short time ago," said 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 take some solace from the knowledge that he heard the completed album and felt that it was a masterpiece."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond referred to his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", adding: "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 aspect of my life and for the songs you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without your influence."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, shared his condolences, recalling Ball's "constant humor" and "unwavering friendship".
"Being in a duo with someone is different from being in a band, the bond is incredibly close," he added.
"That was the case with us. We went through so many remarkable, incredible, life-affirming experiences as a team. Thank you, Dave."
Formative Years
Brought into the world into a single-parent household in Chester in 1959, Ball was given up for adoption when he was 18 months old.
He was raised in the seaside town with his new family his caregivers, who changed his first name from Paul to his adopted name, together with his sibling Susan, who was similarly welcomed.
He met Almond at an art college in the late 70s, where they were both studying fine arts. Inspired by a mutual passion of Northern Soul, they established Soft Cell the same year, and quickly produced an EP.
Musical Partnership
The duo were an unusual pairing: Ball was the quiet technician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all glitter and eye-liner; but they achieved a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had developed a fascination with synthesizers after viewing the band Kraftwerk appear on a television program a popular series, 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 the early 80s, shifting millions of copies worldwide. Alongside hits by other artists, Human League and Ultravox, it helped cleared the path for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.
The song was also included on their first album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which spawned two further high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the album up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at the second position in 1982.
Career Highlights
Fame had its benefits. "I enjoyed being able to purchase my first home, having money and exploring, which makes me sound like a Miss World," Ball not long ago shared with a music magazine.
But it also caused challenges. "Newfound wealth meant we could purchase substances to alleviate the boredom" of press appearances and television shows, Ball explained.
"I know that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a valid cause, because it works for so many musicians."
Amidst the party-filled existence, the duo were also growing distant, but they succeeded to create a follow-up classic album - the wayward, edgy and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released another LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group to concentrate on other projects.
Almond went on to have a prosperous individual path, featuring the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who combined acid house with melodic sounds over a enduring partnership.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, releasing the charting album Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following 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 large venue on September 30, 2018.
Yet, they stayed active, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic restrictions.
Ball recently characterized the duo's upcoming release as a tribute to the New York club scene they frequented while making their first two albums.
He noted that his period in hospital had shaped the group's music.
"I experienced strange recollections 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 times we had in the 80s."
The final mixes were finished only a short time before Ball died. It is due for release in the spring of 2026.
