The talented musician, a key member of the innovative 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Together with vocalist 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 synth-pop.
He subsequently founded the innovative electronic act The Grid, who achieved popular acclaim with their 1994 single the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away 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
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 damage 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 contracting pneumonia and suffering from sepsis, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and remained in hospital for seven months.
Nevertheless, he had been in "a great place mentally" during the summer, as he was developing a fresh record with Almond, called Danceteria, which is set for publication in the coming year.
"He was focused and very pleased with the new album that we actually 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 time for him, and I take some solace from the fact that he listened to the completed album and believed that it was a great piece of work."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond referred to his bandmate as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", adding: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our body of work.
"Many thanks Dave for being an immense part of my life and for the music you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without your influence."
Richard Norris from The Grid, also paid tribute, remembering Ball's "endless laughter" and "steadfast support".
"Being in a duo with someone is distinct from being in a group, the bond is very tight," he added.
"That was the case with us. We went through so many extraordinary, incredible, memorable moments as a team. Many thanks, Dave."
Formative Years
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 old.
He was raised in the seaside town with adoptive parents his caregivers, who altered his first name from Paul to David, together with his sibling his sister, who was also adopted.
He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both studying art. Inspired by a shared love of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the very year, and promptly produced an extended play.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an distinctive pairing: Ball was the quiet technician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they attained a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had developed a fascination with synthesizers after viewing the band Kraftwerk appear on a television science show Tomorrow's World, and started to marry moody electronic sounds to the catchy tunes Almond was composing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second most popular song of 1981, selling millions of copies worldwide. Together with hits by Gary Numan, Human League and electronic acts, it helped paved the path for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.
The track was also featured on their full-length debut, their initial LP, which produced two further high-charting hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the record up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which peaked at number two in 1982.
Professional Journey
Fame had its upsides. "I enjoyed being able to purchase my first home, having financial security and travelling, which makes me sound like a Miss World," Ball not long ago told with a music magazine.
But it also caused problems. "Newfound wealth allowed we could afford newfound drugs to relieve the monotony" of press appearances and television shows, Ball said.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a good reason, because it works for so many bands."
During the hedonistic lifestyle, the duo were also drifting apart, but they succeeded to produce a second memorable record - the unconventional, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released another LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band to concentrate on other projects.
Almond proceeded to have a prosperous solo career, including the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who mixed acid house with melodic sounds over a enduring collaboration.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell reunited in 2001, producing the charting album Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following another hiatus, they returned in recent years, releasing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was supposed to be a farewell show at the O2 Arena on September 30, that year.
Yet, they stayed active, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.
Ball lately described the band's new album as a homage to the New York club scene they visited while recording their first two albums.
He added that his time in hospital had shaped the group's music.
"I had strange recollections when I was in and out of hospital because I was on morphine," he told a music magazine.
"Our latest tracks are a electronic representation of the sounds in my head from that time.
"Simultaneously, it's about the times we got up to in the 80s."
The final mixes were completed only a short time before Ball died. It is scheduled for release in the spring of 2026.
