What Caused The Death Of Electronic Musician, David Ball At The Age Of 66? Here's What We Know

David Ball, the pioneer of electronic music, was widely known as one-half of the synth-pop duo, Soft Cell. For the unversed, Soft Cell consisted of the duo, vocalist, Marc Almond and David Ball. However, the sudden death of the electronic musician at the age of 66 came as a shock to his near and dear ones. What is worth mentioning is that David completed the new album, Danceteria, with Marc just a few days before his death on October 22, 2025. The album is set for release in 2026.

What caused the death of David Ball?

According to multiple reports, David Ball passed away peacefully in his sleep at his London home on October 22, 2025. While the exact cause of death is yet to be revealed, he died just weeks after performing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in Henley-on-Thames. However, the last two years were not too good for David's health. Due to ill health, David Ball had to perform in a wheelchair during the headline show.

In a 2023 interview with the Yorkshire Post, David himself opened up about his health issues. The electronic musician had suffered severe injuries, including fractured vertebrae in his spine, five cracked ribs, and a broken wrist. These injuries led to severe complications, including contracting pneumonia that led to sepsis. This life-threatening reaction to infection led him to be placed in an induced coma, for which he had to spend seven months in hospital. He was quoted as saying:

"I managed to damage myself quite a bit. I fractured lower vertebrae in my spine and cracked about five ribs and broke my wrist."

David Ball's early life and career

David was born in 1959 into a single-parent household in Chester. Later, he was adopted by Donald and Brenda Ball when he was 18 months old. They changed his first name from Paul to David, and he grew up in Blackpool alongside his younger sister, Susan, who was also adopted. In 1977, he met Marc Almond, and the duo studied art. However, it was their shared love of Northern Soul that led them to form the band, Soft Cell, in the same year.

David Ball and Marc Almond formed a team, with the former focusing on keyboards and electronic sounds and the latter on vocals. Their cover of Tainted Love became a huge hit and became the UK’s second biggest-selling single of 1981. The song was part of their debut album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which included hit singles Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye. Then, in 1982, the single Torch reached number two.

Marc Almond's heartfelt tribute to David Ball

On October 23, 2025, Marc Almond took to his Instagram handle and shared a lengthy, heartfelt note confirming the death of David Ball. He mentioned that David had been ill for a long time. He also mentioned how dedicatedly he took part in the album, Danceteria, which is set to be released in 2026. An excerpt from the note can be read as:

"It is hard to write this, but it is with the greatest sadness that the other half of Soft Cell, the wonderful, brilliant musical genius David Ball, died peacefully in his sleep on Tuesday night. Dave has been ill for a long while, and his health has been in slow decline over recent years. It's fitting in many ways that the next (and now the last) album together is called Danceteria as the theme takes us for a visit back to almost the start of it all, the place and time that really shaped us."

We offer our heartfelt condolences to David Ball's family.

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