The talented musician, a key member of the groundbreaking 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the team achieved a global success with their version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in 1984, and their first record their initial full-length release is regarded as a classic of synth-pop.
He later founded the pioneering electronic act The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with 1994's Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully in his rest at his home in London on Wednesday 22 October, only a short time after performing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in the Thames-side town.
Health Struggles
At that show, Ball appeared in a mobility chair, as he had for the previous couple of years, following a period of ill-health.
"I ended up injure myself significantly," he stated in 2023. "I broke lower vertebrae in my back and fractured about multiple ribs and fractured my arm."
After catching pneumonia and suffering from sepsis, he was placed in an medically-induced sleep and stayed in the hospital for seven months.
However, he had been in "a great place emotionally" over the summer, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is set for release next year.
"He was focused and very pleased with the new album that we literally finished only a few days ago," stated the singer in a tribute.
"It's truly heartbreaking as 2026 was all set to be such an positive year for him, and I find comfort from the fact that he listened to the finished record and believed that it was a great piece of work."
Tributes
Almond described his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant musical genius", adding: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our legacy.
"Many thanks Dave for being an significant aspect of my existence and for the songs you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without your influence."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, also paid tribute, remembering Ball's "endless laughter" and "steadfast support".
"Being in a partnership with someone is different from being in a group, the connection is incredibly close," he continued.
"That's how it was with us. We experienced so many extraordinary, incredible, memorable experiences together. Many thanks, Dave."
Formative Years
Born into a one-parent family in Chester in the late 50s, Ball was put up for adoption when he was 18 months of age.
He grew up in Blackpool with his new family Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his given name from Paul to his adopted name, together with his sibling his sister, who was similarly welcomed.
He encountered Almond at an art college in the late 70s, where they were both learning art. Fuelled by a mutual passion of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the very year, and promptly produced an extended play.
Creative Collaboration
The duo were an unusual combination: Ball was the reserved technician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant showman, all glitter and eye-liner; but they achieved a unique creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with synthesizers after viewing Kraftwerk appear on BBC science show a popular series, and started to marry moody electronic sounds to the catchy tunes Almond was composing.
Their signature song became the United Kingdom's second most popular single of the early 80s, selling 21 million copies worldwide. Alongside successful tracks by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it helped paved the way for the electronic music style of the 80s.
The track was also included on their full-length debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which produced two additional high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the record up with the separate release, Torch, which peaked at the second position in 1982.
Career Highlights
Fame had its benefits. "I loved being able to purchase my first home, having money and exploring, which might seem like a beauty queen," Ball not long ago told with a publication.
But it also caused problems. "Sudden riches meant we could purchase newfound drugs to relieve the monotony" of press appearances and TV performances, Ball said.
"I know that's a common saying, but it's a cliché for a valid cause, because it works for so many musicians."
Amidst the hedonistic lifestyle, the pair were also growing distant, but they succeeded to create a follow-up memorable record - the unconventional, edgy and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out another album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the group to focus on individual endeavors.
Almond went on 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 mixed dance music with ambient pop over a long-lasting partnership.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, releasing the charting album Cruelty Without Beauty.
After another break, 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 farewell show at the O2 Arena on September 30, that year.
However, they remained together, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.
Ball lately characterized the band's upcoming release as a homage to the NYC nightlife they visited while making their initial records.
He noted that his period in hospital had influenced the band's sound.
"I had unusual memories when I was in and out of the hospital because I was on morphine," he told a music magazine.
"Our latest tracks are a electronic representation of the sounds in my mind from those days.
"In parallel, it's about the times me and Marc had in the 1980s."
The final mixes were finished only days before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for release in the spring of 2026.
