The talented musician, a key member of the pioneering 1980s synth-pop band Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Together with vocalist 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 debut album their initial full-length release is regarded as a classic of electronic music.
He later founded the innovative electronic act The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with 1994's Swamp Thing.
Ball died peacefully in his sleep 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 the Thames-side town.
Health Struggles
At that performance, Ball appeared in a wheelchair, as he had for the last two years, after a spate of ill-health.
"I managed to injure myself significantly," he stated in 2023. "I broke spinal bones in my back and fractured about five ribs and fractured my arm."
Following contracting pneumonia and suffering from blood poisoning, he was put in an induced coma and stayed in hospital for half a year.
However, he had been in "high spirits emotionally" during the summer, as he was developing a new album with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is set for publication in the coming year.
"He was concentrated and very pleased with the new album that we literally finished only a few days ago," said the vocalist in a heartfelt message.
"It's so sad as 2026 was all set to be such an uplifting time for him, and I find comfort from the knowledge that he listened to the finished record and believed that it was a great piece of work."
Tributes
Almond referred to his bandmate as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", adding: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our legacy.
"Many thanks Dave for being an significant part of my existence and for the songs you gave me. I couldn't be where I am without your influence."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, also paid tribute, remembering Ball's "endless laughter" and "unwavering friendship".
"Forming a partnership with someone is distinct from joining a group, the bond is very tight," he continued.
"That's how it was with us. We experienced so many remarkable, extraordinary, memorable moments as a team. Many thanks, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a single-parent household in Chester in 1959, Ball was given up for adoption when he was a year and a half old.
He grew up in Blackpool with his new family Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his given name from his birth name to his adopted name, together with his sibling his sister, who was also adopted.
He encountered Almond at an art college in the late 70s, where they were both studying fine arts. Fuelled by a mutual passion of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the same year, and quickly produced an EP.
Creative Collaboration
The duo were an distinctive combination: Ball was the reserved technician, hunched over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all sparkle and makeup; but they attained a rare creative synergy.
Ball had developed a fascination with electronic instruments after watching the band Kraftwerk appear on a television program Tomorrow's World, and started to marry moody electronic sounds to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.
Their signature song became the UK's second biggest-selling song of 1981, shifting millions of copies worldwide. Alongside successful tracks by other artists, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it helped 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 spawned two additional top five hits: 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.
Career Highlights
Success had its benefits. "I loved being able to afford my first home, having money and travelling, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball not long ago told with a music magazine.
But it also presented challenges. "Sudden riches meant we could afford newfound drugs to alleviate the boredom" of press appearances and television shows, Ball said.
"I know 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 pair were also drifting apart, but they succeeded to create a second classic album - the wayward, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out one more LP, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band to focus on individual endeavors.
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 mixed acid house with ambient pop over a long-lasting partnership.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell reunited in 2001, producing the Top 40 album Cruelty Without Beauty.
After a further hiatus, they reappeared in recent years, releasing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was intended to be a final performance at the large venue on September 30, that year.
However, they stayed together, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.
Ball recently characterized the duo's new album as a tribute to the New York club scene they frequented while making their first two albums.
He added that his time in hospital had influenced the band's sound.
"I experienced strange recollections when I was coming and going of the hospital because I was on pain medication," he explained to a publication.
"The new songs are a digital reflection of the sounds in my mind from those days.
"In parallel, it's about the experiences we had in the 1980s."
The final mixes were finished only a short time before Ball passed away. It is due for launch in the spring of 2026.
