The talented musician, a key member of the pioneering 1980s synth-pop duo Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Together with vocalist Marc Almond, the duo achieved a global success with their cover of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a seminal work of electronic music.
He subsequently founded the innovative electronic act The Grid, who secured chart success with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his sleep 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 the Thames-side town.
Health Struggles
At that performance, Ball performed in a wheelchair, as he had for the last two years, after a spate of health issues.
"I ended up injure myself significantly," he stated in a recent interview. "I fractured spinal bones in my back and cracked about multiple ribs and fractured my arm."
Following catching pneumonia and suffering from blood poisoning, he was placed in an induced coma and remained in hospital for seven months.
Nevertheless, he had been in "a great place emotionally" over the warmer months, as he was developing a new album with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is scheduled for release in the coming year.
"He was concentrated and very pleased with the latest project that we actually completed only a few days ago," stated the vocalist in a heartfelt message.
"It's truly heartbreaking as 2026 was all set to be such an uplifting time for him, and I find comfort from the knowledge that he heard the completed album and believed that it was a masterpiece."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond referred to his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", stating: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our legacy.
"Thank you Dave for being an immense part of my existence and for the songs you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without you."
Richard Norris 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 bond is incredibly close," he added.
"That was the case with us. We went through so many remarkable, incredible, life-affirming experiences as a team. Thank you, Dave."
Formative Years
Brought into the world into a single-parent household in Chester in the late 50s, Ball was given up for adoption when he was a year and a half of age.
He was raised in the seaside town with his new family his caregivers, who altered his given name from his birth name to David, together with his younger sister his sister, who was also adopted.
He encountered Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both learning art. Fuelled by a shared love of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the same year, and quickly produced an EP.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an distinctive combination: Ball was the quiet technician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a charismatic showman, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they attained a unique creative synergy.
Ball had developed a interest with electronic instruments after viewing the band Kraftwerk perform on a television program Tomorrow's World, and began to marry dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling song of the early 80s, shifting 21 million copies worldwide. Alongside successful tracks by Gary Numan, Human League and Ultravox, it contributed to cleared the way for the synth-pop sound of the 80s.
The track was also featured on their full-length debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which spawned two further top five hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the record up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which peaked at number two in 1982.
Career Highlights
Success had its upsides. "I enjoyed being able to afford my first home, having money and travelling, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball not long ago shared with a music magazine.
But it also caused challenges. "Sudden riches meant we could purchase substances to alleviate the boredom" of media interviews and TV performances, Ball explained.
"I know that's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a valid cause, because it works for so many bands."
During the hedonistic lifestyle, the duo were also growing distant, but they managed to produce a follow-up classic album - the unconventional, edgy and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out another LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the band to focus on individual endeavors.
Almond proceeded to have a successful solo career, featuring the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who mixed acid house with melodic sounds over a long-lasting partnership.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, producing the charting album Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following another hiatus, they reappeared in recent years, issuing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was intended to be a final performance at the O2 Arena on 30 September, 2018.
Yet, they stayed together, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.
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 hospital had influenced the band's sound.
"I had unusual memories when I was in and out of hospital because I was on morphine," he explained to a music magazine.
"Our latest tracks are a electronic representation of the sounds in my mind from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the times me and Marc got up to in the 80s."
The final mixes were finished only a short time before Ball died. It is scheduled for launch in Spring 2026.
