The talented musician, a key member of the innovative 1980s synth-pop duo Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the pair scored a worldwide hit with their version of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a classic of synth-pop.
He later founded the pioneering electronic act The Grid, who secured chart success with 1994's Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully 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.
Recent Health Challenges
At that show, Ball performed in a wheelchair, as he had for the last two years, following a spate of ill-health.
"I managed to injure myself quite a bit," he stated in 2023. "I fractured spinal bones in my spine and fractured about multiple ribs and fractured my arm."
After contracting a lung infection and suffering from blood poisoning, he was placed in an medically-induced sleep and remained in the hospital for half a year.
However, he had been in "high spirits mentally" during the summer, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, called the upcoming Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication in the coming year.
"He was focused and very pleased with the new album that we literally finished only a short time ago," said the vocalist in a heartfelt message.
"It's truly heartbreaking as 2026 was completely planned to be such an uplifting time for him, and I find comfort from the fact that he heard the completed album and felt that it was a great piece of work."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond referred to his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", stating: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our legacy.
"Many thanks Dave for being an significant part of my existence and for the songs you gave me. I wouldn't be where I am without you."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, also paid tribute, recalling Ball's "endless laughter" and "steadfast support".
"Being in a duo with someone is distinct from being in a band, the connection is incredibly close," he continued.
"That was the case with us. We experienced so many extraordinary, incredible, memorable experiences as a team. Thank you, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a single-parent household in Chester in the late 50s, Ball was given up for adoption when he was 18 months old.
He grew up in Blackpool with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who altered his first name from his birth name to David, together with his sibling Susan, who was also adopted.
He met Almond at an art college in the late 70s, where they were both learning fine arts. Inspired by a mutual passion of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and quickly produced an EP.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an unusual pairing: Ball was the reserved technician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all sparkle and makeup; but they attained a unique creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with electronic instruments after watching the band Kraftwerk appear on BBC program a popular series, and began to combine dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.
Their signature song became the UK's second most popular song of 1981, selling millions of units worldwide. Together with hits by other artists, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it contributed to 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 spawned two further top five singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the album up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which reached at the second position in the following year.
Professional Journey
Fame had its benefits. "I loved being able to afford my first home, having money and exploring, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball recently shared with a music magazine.
But it also presented challenges. "Newfound wealth allowed we could purchase newfound drugs to relieve the monotony" of media interviews and television shows, Ball said.
"I realize that's a common saying, but it's a cliché for a good reason, because it works for so many musicians."
During the hedonistic lifestyle, the duo were also growing distant, but they managed to produce a second memorable record - the unconventional, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out one more LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the group to concentrate on other projects.
Almond proceeded to have a successful individual path, featuring the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who combined dance music with melodic sounds over a enduring collaboration.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell came back together in 2001, producing the charting record Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following another break, they reappeared in recent years, releasing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was intended to be a final performance at the O2 Arena on 30 September, that year.
Yet, they stayed active, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.
Ball lately described the band's upcoming release as a tribute to the NYC nightlife they frequented while making their first two albums.
He added that his period in medical care had shaped the band's sound.
"I had strange recollections when I was in and out of the hospital because I was on morphine," he explained to a music magazine.
"Our latest tracks are a electronic representation of the noises in my head from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the times we got up to in the 1980s."
The final mixes were completed only days before Ball died. It is due for launch in the spring of 2026.
