The talented musician, a key member of the groundbreaking 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Alongside vocalist Marc Almond, the pair scored a worldwide hit with their version 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 later formed the pioneering electronic act The Grid, who achieved chart success with their 1994 single the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball died calmly in his rest at his home in London on Wednesday 22 October, only a short time after playing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in Henley-on-Thames.
Recent Health Challenges
During that show, Ball performed in a mobility chair, as he had for the previous couple of years, following a period of health issues.
"I managed to injure myself quite a bit," he commented in a recent interview. "I broke spinal bones in my spine and fractured about multiple ribs and broke my wrist."
Following contracting a lung infection and suffering from sepsis, he was put in an induced coma and stayed in the hospital for half a year.
However, he had been in "a great place emotionally" over the summer, as he worked on a new album with Almond, titled the upcoming Danceteria, which is set for release in the coming year.
"He was concentrated and so happy with the new album that we literally completed only a few days ago," said the vocalist in a heartfelt message.
"It's truly heartbreaking as 2026 was all set to be such an uplifting year for him, and I take some solace from the fact that he heard the completed album and believed that it was a great piece of work."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond referred to his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant musical genius", adding: "He was the core essence 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 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 "unwavering friendship".
"Forming a partnership with someone is distinct from joining a band, the connection is incredibly close," he continued.
"That was the case with us. We experienced so many remarkable, incredible, life-affirming experiences together. Thank you, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a single-parent household in Chester in the late 50s, Ball was put up for adoption when he was a year and a half old.
He was raised in the seaside town with his new family his caregivers, who altered his given name from Paul to his adopted name, alongside his sibling his sister, who was similarly welcomed.
He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both studying art. Fuelled by a shared love of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the same year, and promptly produced an extended play.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an distinctive pairing: Ball was the reserved technician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a charismatic showman, all glitter and makeup; but they attained a rare musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with synthesizers after viewing the band Kraftwerk perform on a television program a popular series, and started to marry dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.
Their signature song became the UK's second most popular single of 1981, shifting 21 million copies worldwide. Alongside successful tracks by Gary Numan, Human League and Ultravox, it helped cleared the path for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The track was also featured on their full-length debut, their initial LP, which produced two additional high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the album up with the separate release, Torch, which peaked at the second position in the following year.
Professional Journey
Fame had its benefits. "I loved being able to purchase my initial property, having financial security and travelling, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball recently told with a music magazine.
But it also caused challenges. "Sudden riches allowed we could afford 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 good reason, because it works for so many musicians."
Amidst the party-filled existence, the pair were also drifting apart, but they managed to create a follow-up classic album - the wayward, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out another album, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the band to focus on other projects.
Almond went on to have a prosperous 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 ambient pop over a enduring partnership.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell reunited in 2001, producing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following a further break, 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 remained active, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic restrictions.
Ball recently characterized the duo's new album as a tribute to the New York club scene they frequented while recording their initial records.
He added that his period in hospital had influenced the band's sound.
"I had strange recollections when I was in and out of the hospital because I was on pain medication," he explained to a music magazine.
"The new songs are a electronic representation of the noises in my head from those days.
"In parallel, it's about the experiences me and Marc got up to in the 80s."
The last versions were completed only a short time before Ball died. It is due for release in the spring of 2026.
