The talented musician, a key member of the innovative 1980s synth-pop band Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Together with singer Marc Almond, the duo achieved a global success with their version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in 1984, and their debut album their initial full-length release is regarded as a seminal work of electronic music.
He later founded the pioneering electronic act The Grid, who achieved chart success with 1994's Swamp Thing.
Ball died peacefully in his rest at his residence in London on Wednesday 22 October, only a short time after playing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in Henley-on-Thames.
Health Struggles
During that performance, Ball performed in a mobility chair, as he had for the last two years, following a spate of ill-health.
"I managed to injure myself significantly," he commented in a recent interview. "I broke lower vertebrae in my spine and cracked about multiple ribs and broke my wrist."
After contracting a lung infection and suffering from sepsis, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and remained in hospital for seven months.
However, he had been in "high spirits mentally" during the warmer months, as he was developing a fresh record with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is scheduled for release next year.
"He was concentrated and very pleased with the new album that we actually completed only a few days ago," said the vocalist in a heartfelt message.
"It's so sad as 2026 was completely planned to be such an positive time for him, and I find comfort from the knowledge that he heard the finished record and felt that it was a great piece of work."
Tributes
Almond described his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", stating: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our body of work.
"Many thanks Dave for being an immense part of my existence and for the songs you created with me. I wouldn't be where I am without you."
Richard Norris from The Grid, shared his condolences, recalling Ball's "constant humor" and "unwavering friendship".
"Forming a duo with someone is distinct 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 moments as a team. Many thanks, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a single-parent household in Chester in 1959, Ball was put up for adoption when he was 18 months old.
He was raised in Blackpool with his new family Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his given name from his birth name to David, alongside his sibling his sister, who was also adopted.
He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both studying fine arts. Fuelled by a shared love of Northern Soul, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and promptly produced an extended play.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an distinctive combination: Ball was the quiet musician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic showman, all glitter and makeup; but they achieved a rare musical alchemy.
Ball had developed a fascination with synthesizers after viewing the band Kraftwerk appear on a television program a popular series, and started to marry moody electronic sounds to the catchy tunes Almond was composing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second biggest-selling song of the early 80s, shifting millions of units globally. Together with hits by other artists, Human League and Ultravox, it contributed to paved the way for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.
The track was also featured on their full-length debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which produced two further high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the album up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at the second position in the following year.
Professional Journey
Success had its benefits. "I enjoyed being able to purchase my first home, having financial security and travelling, which makes me sound like a Miss World," Ball recently shared with a music magazine.
But it also presented problems. "Newfound wealth allowed we could afford newfound drugs to relieve the boredom" of media interviews and TV performances, Ball said.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a valid cause, because it works for so many musicians."
During the hedonistic lifestyle, the duo were also growing distant, but they managed to produce a follow-up memorable record - the wayward, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released another LP, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band to focus on individual endeavors.
Almond proceeded to have a successful individual path, featuring the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who mixed dance music with ambient pop over a enduring partnership.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell came back together in the early 2000s, releasing the Top 40 album Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following another hiatus, they reappeared in 2018, issuing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was intended to be a final performance at the large venue on 30 September, 2018.
However, they stayed active, recording their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.
Ball lately described the band's new album as a tribute to the New York club scene they visited while recording their first two albums.
He noted that his period in medical care had shaped the group's music.
"I had strange recollections when I was coming and going of the hospital because I was on morphine," he told a publication.
"Our latest tracks are a electronic representation of the sounds in my mind from that time.
"In parallel, it's about the times we had in the 1980s."
The last versions were finished only days before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for launch in Spring 2026.
