The talented musician, one half of the groundbreaking 1980s synth-pop duo Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Together with singer Marc Almond, the pair scored a global success with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in 1984, and their first record their initial full-length release is regarded as a seminal work of electronic music.
He later formed the pioneering electronic act The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with their 1994 single the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his sleep at his home in London on Wednesday 22 October, just weeks after playing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in Henley-on-Thames.
Health Struggles
During that performance, Ball performed in a mobility chair, as he had for the previous couple of years, after a spate of ill-health.
"I managed to damage myself quite a bit," he stated in a recent interview. "I broke lower vertebrae in my back and fractured about five ribs and fractured my arm."
Following catching a lung infection and developing blood poisoning, he was placed in an induced coma and stayed in hospital for seven months.
However, he had been in "high spirits mentally" during the summer, as he was developing a new album with Almond, called the upcoming Danceteria, which is set for release next year.
"He was focused and so happy with the latest project that we actually finished only a few days ago," stated the singer in a tribute.
"It's so sad as 2026 was completely planned to be such an uplifting year for him, and I find comfort from the fact that he heard the completed album and believed that it was a masterpiece."
Tributes
Almond referred to his bandmate as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", adding: "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 aspect of my existence 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, recalling Ball's "endless laughter" and "steadfast support".
"Forming a duo with someone is different from being in a group, the bond is incredibly close," he continued.
"That's how it was with us. We went through so many remarkable, incredible, life-affirming experiences together. Thank you, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a one-parent family in Chester in 1959, Ball was put up for adoption when he was a year and a half of age.
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 younger sister his sister, who was also adopted.
He met Almond at Leeds Polytechnic 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 recorded an EP.
Musical Partnership
The duo were an unusual pairing: Ball was the reserved technician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant showman, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they achieved a unique creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with electronic instruments after watching the band Kraftwerk appear on BBC program a popular series, and began to combine dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling single of 1981, shifting millions of copies worldwide. Alongside hits by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it helped paved the way for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.
The song was also included on their full-length debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which spawned two additional top five hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the record up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which peaked at the second position in 1982.
Professional Journey
Success had its benefits. "I loved being able to purchase my initial property, having money and travelling, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball not long ago told with a publication.
But it also caused challenges. "Sudden riches allowed we could afford substances to relieve the boredom" of media interviews and TV performances, Ball said.
"I know that's a common saying, but it's a truism for a valid cause, because it works for so many bands."
Amidst the party-filled existence, the pair were also growing distant, but they succeeded to produce a second classic album - the unconventional, 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 group to focus on individual endeavors.
Almond proceeded to have a successful solo career, featuring the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who mixed acid house with melodic sounds over a long-lasting partnership.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell came back together in the early 2000s, producing the charting album Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following a further hiatus, they returned in recent years, issuing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was supposed to be a final performance at the O2 Arena on 30 September, 2018.
Yet, they remained active, recording their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.
Ball recently described 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 medical care had shaped the group's music.
"I had strange recollections when I was coming and going of hospital because I was on morphine," he told a music magazine.
"The new songs are a electronic representation of the sounds in my mind from that time.
"Simultaneously, it's about the times we got up to in the 80s."
The final mixes were finished only a short time before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for launch in Spring 2026.
