The talented musician, one half of the pioneering 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Together with vocalist Marc Almond, the pair scored a global success with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a seminal work of synth-pop.
He later formed the innovative electronic act The Grid, who achieved popular acclaim with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully 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 the Thames-side town.
Health Struggles
During 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 quite a bit," he commented in a recent interview. "I broke lower vertebrae in my back and fractured about multiple ribs and fractured my arm."
After contracting a lung infection and developing blood poisoning, he was placed in an medically-induced sleep and remained in the hospital for seven months.
Nevertheless, he had been in "high spirits emotionally" over the summer, as he worked on a new album with Almond, called Danceteria, which is scheduled for release in the coming year.
"He was concentrated and very pleased with the latest project that we literally completed only a few days ago," stated the singer in a tribute.
"It's truly heartbreaking as 2026 was all set to be such an positive year for him, and I find comfort from the knowledge that he heard the finished record and felt that it was a masterpiece."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond described his collaborator as "an exceptionally talented musical genius", stating: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our body of work.
"Thank you Dave for being an significant aspect of my life and for the songs you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without you."
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 being in a group, the connection is very tight," he added.
"That was the case with us. We went through so many extraordinary, extraordinary, life-affirming experiences as a team. Many thanks, 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 Blackpool with adoptive parents his caregivers, who altered his first name from his birth name to his adopted name, alongside his younger sister Susan, who was similarly welcomed.
He encountered Almond at an art college in the late 70s, where they were both learning art. Fuelled by a shared love of Northern Soul, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and promptly produced an EP.
Creative Collaboration
The pair were an distinctive combination: Ball was the quiet musician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all sparkle and makeup; but they attained a unique 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 dark electronica to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second most popular song of the early 80s, selling 21 million copies worldwide. Alongside hits by Gary Numan, Human League and Ultravox, it helped cleared the path for the electronic music style of the 80s.
The track was also included on their full-length debut, their initial LP, which produced two further high-charting hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the album up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which peaked at the second position in 1982.
Career Highlights
Success had its benefits. "I loved being able to purchase my initial property, having money and travelling, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball not long ago shared with a music magazine.
But it also caused challenges. "Newfound wealth meant we could afford newfound drugs to alleviate the monotony" of media interviews and television shows, Ball said.
"I know that's a common saying, but it's a cliché for a valid cause, because it works for so many bands."
During the hedonistic lifestyle, the duo were also drifting apart, but they succeeded to create a follow-up classic album - the wayward, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released one more album, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the band to focus on other projects.
Almond went on to have a prosperous individual path, including 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.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell came back together in the early 2000s, releasing the charting album Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following a further break, they returned 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 September 30, 2018.
However, they stayed active, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.
Ball lately described the band's new album as a homage to the New York club scene they visited while recording their initial records.
He noted that his period in hospital 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 music magazine.
"The new songs are a electronic representation of the sounds in my head from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences we got up to in the 80s."
The last versions were finished only a short time before Ball passed away. It is due for release in the spring of 2026.
