The talented musician, one half of the pioneering 1980s synth-pop band Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Together with singer Marc Almond, the team 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 classic of synth-pop.
He subsequently founded the pioneering electronic act The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with their 1994 single Swamp Thing.
Ball died calmly in his sleep at his residence in London on Wednesday 22 October, just weeks after playing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in the Thames-side town.
Health Struggles
During that performance, Ball appeared in a mobility chair, as he had for the previous couple of years, after a spate of ill-health.
"I ended up injure myself quite a bit," he commented in 2023. "I broke spinal bones in my spine and cracked about multiple ribs and fractured my arm."
Following catching a lung infection and developing sepsis, he was placed in an medically-induced sleep and remained in hospital for half a year.
However, he had been in "high spirits mentally" during the summer, as he was developing a fresh record with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is set for publication in the coming year.
"He was focused and so happy with the new album that we literally 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 positive time for him, and I take some solace from the knowledge that he listened to the completed album and believed that it was a great piece of work."
Tributes
Almond described his collaborator as "an exceptionally talented musical genius", adding: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our body of work.
"Many thanks Dave for being an significant aspect of my existence and for the songs you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without your influence."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, also paid tribute, recalling Ball's "endless laughter" and "unwavering friendship".
"Forming a partnership with someone is distinct from being in a band, the bond is very tight," he added.
"That's how it was with us. We experienced so many remarkable, incredible, memorable moments as a team. Thank you, Dave."
Formative Years
Brought into the world into a one-parent family in Chester in the late 50s, Ball was put up for adoption when he was a year and a half old.
He was raised in the seaside town with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who altered his given name from his birth name to his adopted name, together with his younger sister Susan, who was similarly welcomed.
He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both learning art. Fuelled by a shared love of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and quickly produced an extended play.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an distinctive combination: Ball was the reserved technician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all glitter and makeup; but they attained a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with electronic instruments after watching the band Kraftwerk perform on BBC program Tomorrow's World, and began to combine moody electronic sounds to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second most popular song of 1981, shifting 21 million units worldwide. Alongside successful tracks by other artists, Human League and Ultravox, it contributed to paved the way for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The song was also included on their full-length debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which produced two additional high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the album up with the separate release, Torch, which peaked at the second position in the following year.
Career Highlights
Success had its benefits. "I loved being able to purchase my initial property, having money and exploring, which might seem like a beauty queen," Ball not long ago shared with a music magazine.
But it also presented challenges. "Newfound wealth allowed we could afford substances to relieve the boredom" of press appearances and television shows, Ball explained.
"I realize that's a common saying, but it's a cliché for a valid cause, because it applies for so many bands."
Amidst the party-filled existence, the duo were also growing distant, but they managed to create a second classic album - the unconventional, edgy and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out another LP, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group to concentrate on individual endeavors.
Almond proceeded to have a successful individual path, including the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who combined acid house with melodic sounds over a long-lasting collaboration.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell came back together in the early 2000s, producing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following another break, they reappeared in 2018, releasing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was supposed to be a farewell show at the large venue on September 30, 2018.
However, they remained together, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.
Ball recently described the duo's upcoming release as a tribute to the New York club scene they frequented while making their initial records.
He added that his period in hospital had shaped the band's sound.
"I had unusual memories when I was coming and going of hospital because I was on morphine," he explained to a publication.
"Our latest tracks are a electronic representation of the noises in my head from that time.
"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences we got up to in the 1980s."
The final mixes were completed only a short time before Ball died. It is due for release in the spring of 2026.
