The talented musician, a key member of the innovative 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the pair scored a global success with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their debut album their initial full-length release is regarded as a seminal work of electronic music.
He later formed the innovative electronic act The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with 1994's Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully in his sleep at his home in London on October 22, only a short time after playing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in the Thames-side town.
Health Struggles
At that performance, Ball appeared in a mobility chair, as he had for the last two years, following a period of ill-health.
"I managed to damage myself significantly," he stated in 2023. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my spine and cracked about five ribs and fractured my arm."
After contracting a lung infection and developing sepsis, he was placed in an medically-induced sleep and remained in the hospital for seven months.
Nevertheless, he had been in "a great place mentally" over the warmer months, as he worked on a new album with Almond, called the upcoming Danceteria, which is scheduled for release next year.
"He was focused and very pleased with the new album that we actually finished only a short time ago," said the singer in a tribute.
"It's truly heartbreaking as 2026 was completely planned to be such an uplifting year for him, and I take some solace from the fact that he listened to the completed album and believed that it was a masterpiece."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond referred to his bandmate as "a wonderfully brilliant musical genius", adding: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our legacy.
"Thank you Dave for being an significant part of my existence and for the music you created with me. I wouldn't be where I am without your influence."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, also paid tribute, remembering Ball's "endless laughter" and "steadfast support".
"Being in a partnership with someone is distinct from joining a band, the bond is very tight," he added.
"That was the case with us. We experienced so many extraordinary, extraordinary, life-affirming moments as a team. Thank you, 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 18 months of age.
He grew up in the seaside town with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his first name from his birth name to David, together with his younger sister his sister, who was also adopted.
He met Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both studying fine arts. Inspired by a mutual passion of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the same year, and promptly recorded an EP.
Creative Collaboration
The pair were an unusual combination: Ball was the reserved technician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic showman, all sparkle and makeup; but they attained a rare creative synergy.
Ball had developed a fascination with synthesizers after viewing the band Kraftwerk perform on a television program a popular series, and began to combine dark electronica to the catchy tunes Almond was composing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second biggest-selling song of 1981, shifting millions of units globally. Together with successful tracks by other artists, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it contributed to paved the way for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The track was also included on their first album, their initial LP, which spawned two further top five singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the record up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which reached at number two in the following year.
Career Highlights
Success had its upsides. "I enjoyed being able to afford my first home, having money and exploring, which might seem like a beauty queen," Ball not long ago shared with a publication.
But it also presented challenges. "Newfound wealth meant we could purchase substances to alleviate the monotony" of press appearances and TV performances, Ball said.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a good reason, because it works for so many bands."
During the party-filled existence, the duo were also growing distant, but they succeeded to create a follow-up classic album - the unconventional, edgy and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released another album, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group to concentrate on other projects.
Almond proceeded to have a prosperous individual path, featuring the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who combined acid house with melodic sounds over a long-lasting partnership.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell reunited in 2001, releasing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following another hiatus, they returned in 2018, 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 O2 Arena on September 30, 2018.
Yet, they stayed together, 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 influenced the group's music.
"I experienced strange recollections when I was coming and going of the hospital because I was on morphine," he explained to a publication.
"The new songs are a electronic representation of the noises in my head from that time.
"In parallel, it's about the experiences we had in the 80s."
The last versions were completed only a short time before Ball died. It is due for release in Spring 2026.
