The talented musician, a key member of the groundbreaking 1980s synth-pop band Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the duo scored a global success with their cover of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in 1984, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a seminal work of synth-pop.
He later formed the innovative techno group The Grid, who achieved chart success with their 1994 single Swamp Thing.
Ball died peacefully in his rest at his residence in London on Wednesday 22 October, just weeks after performing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in Henley-on-Thames.
Health Struggles
At that show, Ball performed in a wheelchair, as he had for the previous couple of years, after a spate of ill-health.
"I ended up injure myself significantly," he stated in a recent interview. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my back and fractured about multiple ribs and broke my arm."
After catching pneumonia and suffering from blood poisoning, he was placed in an medically-induced sleep and stayed in hospital for half a year.
However, he had been in "high spirits emotionally" over the warmer months, as he was developing a fresh record with Almond, called Danceteria, which is set for release next year.
"He was focused and very pleased with the new album that we literally finished only a short time ago," stated the singer in a tribute.
"It's so sad as 2026 was all set to be such an positive year for him, and I find comfort from the fact that he heard the finished record and believed that it was a masterpiece."
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 extremely pleased of our body of work.
"Thank you Dave for being an immense aspect of my life and for the songs you created with me. I wouldn't be where I am without your influence."
Richard Norris from The Grid, also paid tribute, remembering Ball's "constant humor" and "unwavering friendship".
"Being in a partnership with someone is different from joining a band, the connection is incredibly close," he added.
"That was the case with us. We went through so many extraordinary, extraordinary, memorable experiences together. Thank you, Dave."
Early Life
Born 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 of age.
He was raised in Blackpool with adoptive parents his caregivers, who altered his first name from his birth name to David, together with his younger sister his sister, who was similarly welcomed.
He encountered Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both studying art. Fuelled by a shared love of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the very year, and quickly produced an EP.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an distinctive combination: Ball was the quiet technician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they attained a rare creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with synthesizers after watching Kraftwerk perform on a television science show a popular series, and started to combine dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.
Their signature song became the United Kingdom's second most popular song of 1981, selling 21 million copies worldwide. Together with successful tracks by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it helped paved the way for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The song was also featured on their first album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which spawned two further top five singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the album up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at number two in 1982.
Career Highlights
Success had its upsides. "I loved being able to purchase my first home, having financial security and exploring, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball recently told with a music magazine.
But it also caused problems. "Sudden riches allowed we could afford newfound drugs to alleviate the boredom" of media interviews and television shows, Ball said.
"I realize that's a common saying, but it's a cliché for a valid cause, because it applies for so many musicians."
During the party-filled existence, the pair were also drifting apart, but they succeeded to create a second classic album - the unconventional, edgy 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 individual endeavors.
Almond proceeded to have a successful solo career, including the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who mixed acid house with melodic sounds over a long-lasting partnership.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell came back together in the early 2000s, releasing the charting record Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following a further hiatus, they reappeared in 2018, releasing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was supposed to be a final performance at the large venue on September 30, that year.
Yet, they remained together, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.
Ball lately characterized the band's upcoming release as a tribute to the New York club scene they frequented while making their initial records.
He added that his time in hospital had influenced the band's sound.
"I experienced strange recollections when I was coming and going of hospital because I was on pain medication," he explained to a music magazine.
"Our latest tracks are a digital reflection of the sounds in my head from those days.
"In parallel, it's about the experiences me and Marc got up to in the 1980s."
The final mixes were finished only days before Ball died. It is due for release in the spring of 2026.
