The talented musician, a key member of the innovative 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Together with singer Marc Almond, the pair achieved a worldwide hit with their version of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in 1984, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a classic of electronic music.
He subsequently founded the pioneering electronic act The Grid, who secured chart success with their 1994 single the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully in his sleep at his home in London on Wednesday 22 October, just weeks after performing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in the Thames-side town.
Recent Health Challenges
At that show, Ball appeared in a wheelchair, as he had for the previous couple of years, after a spate of health issues.
"I managed to damage myself quite a bit," he commented in 2023. "I broke spinal bones in my back and fractured about five ribs and fractured my wrist."
After catching pneumonia and suffering from blood poisoning, he was put in an induced coma and stayed in the hospital for half a year.
However, he had been in "high spirits emotionally" over the warmer months, as he worked on a new album with Almond, called the upcoming Danceteria, which is set for publication next year.
"He was focused and so happy with the new album that we actually finished only a few days ago," said the vocalist in a tribute.
"It's so sad as 2026 was all set to be such an positive time for him, and I take some solace from the fact that he listened to the completed album and felt that it was a masterpiece."
Tributes
Almond described his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant musical genius", adding: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our body of work.
"Thank you Dave for being an immense aspect of my life and for the music you gave me. I wouldn't be where I am without you."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, also paid tribute, recalling Ball's "constant humor" and "unwavering friendship".
"Forming a partnership with someone is different from being in a band, the connection is incredibly close," he added.
"That's how it was with us. We experienced so many extraordinary, extraordinary, memorable moments together. Many thanks, Dave."
Formative Years
Born 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 his new family Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his given name from his birth name to David, together with his sibling his sister, who was similarly welcomed.
He encountered Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both studying fine arts. Inspired by a shared love of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the very year, and quickly recorded an extended play.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an distinctive combination: Ball was the reserved technician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a charismatic showman, all sparkle and makeup; but they achieved a rare creative synergy.
Ball had developed a fascination with synthesizers after watching Kraftwerk appear on a television program Tomorrow's World, and started to combine moody electronic sounds to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.
Their signature song became the UK's second biggest-selling single of 1981, selling 21 million copies worldwide. Alongside successful tracks by other artists, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it contributed to cleared the path for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The track was also featured on their first album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which produced two further high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the record up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at the second position in the following year.
Professional Journey
Success had its upsides. "I enjoyed being able to purchase my first home, having financial security and travelling, which might seem like a beauty queen," Ball not long ago shared with a publication.
But it also caused problems. "Sudden riches allowed we could afford substances to relieve the boredom" of media interviews and television shows, Ball said.
"I realize that's a common saying, but it's a truism for a valid cause, because it applies for so many musicians."
Amidst the party-filled existence, the duo were also drifting apart, but they managed to create a second memorable record - the unconventional, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released one more LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the group to concentrate on other projects.
Almond went on to have a prosperous solo career, including the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who combined dance music with melodic sounds over a enduring partnership.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell came back together in 2001, releasing the charting record Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following a further break, they reappeared in recent years, releasing 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, that year.
Yet, they remained together, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.
Ball recently characterized the band's new album as a homage to the NYC nightlife they visited while making their first two albums.
He noted that his period in medical care had shaped the band's sound.
"I experienced strange recollections when I was coming and going of the 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 those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the times me and Marc had in the 80s."
The final mixes were completed only days before Ball died. It is scheduled for release in the spring of 2026.
