The talented musician, one half of the innovative 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Alongside vocalist Marc Almond, the team scored a worldwide hit with their version of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their debut album their initial full-length release is considered a classic of electronic music.
He subsequently formed the pioneering techno group The Grid, who secured chart success with their 1994 single Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully in his sleep at his home in London on Wednesday 22 October, just weeks after performing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in the Thames-side town.
Health Struggles
During that performance, Ball appeared in a wheelchair, as he had for the last two years, following a spate of health issues.
"I ended up damage myself significantly," he commented in a recent interview. "I fractured spinal bones in my spine and cracked about multiple ribs and broke my wrist."
After contracting pneumonia and suffering from sepsis, he was placed in an medically-induced sleep and remained in hospital for seven months.
However, he had been in "high spirits mentally" during the summer, as he worked on a new album with Almond, called the upcoming Danceteria, which is set for publication in the coming year.
"He was concentrated and so happy with the new album that we literally finished only a few days ago," said the singer in a tribute.
"It's so sad 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 finished record and felt that it was a masterpiece."
Tributes
Almond described his bandmate as "a wonderfully brilliant musical genius", stating: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our body of work.
"Thank you Dave for being an immense aspect of my life 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, remembering Ball's "constant humor" and "unwavering friendship".
"Being in a duo with someone is different 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."
Early Life
Born into a single-parent household in Chester in the late 50s, Ball was given up for adoption when he was a year and a half old.
He was raised in the seaside town with his new family his caregivers, who altered his first name from his birth name to his adopted name, together with his sibling 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 a music genre, they established Soft Cell the same year, and quickly recorded an extended play.
Creative Collaboration
The duo were an distinctive combination: Ball was the reserved technician, hunched over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all sparkle and makeup; but they achieved a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with synthesizers after watching the band Kraftwerk appear on a television science show Tomorrow's World, and started to combine dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling single of the early 80s, selling millions of copies worldwide. Alongside hits by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it helped paved the path for the synth-pop sound of the 80s.
The song was also featured on their full-length debut, their initial LP, which produced two further high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the album up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which peaked at number two in 1982.
Professional Journey
Fame had its benefits. "I loved being able to purchase my initial property, having financial security and exploring, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball not long ago told with a music magazine.
But it also presented challenges. "Sudden riches meant we could purchase newfound drugs to alleviate the boredom" of press appearances and television shows, Ball explained.
"I know that's a common saying, but it's a truism for a valid cause, because it applies for so many musicians."
Amidst the party-filled existence, the pair were also growing distant, but they managed to create a follow-up memorable record - the unconventional, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released one more album, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the group to focus on individual endeavors.
Almond went on 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 mixed acid house with melodic sounds over a long-lasting partnership.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell came back together in 2001, producing the Top 40 album Cruelty Without Beauty.
After another break, they reappeared in 2018, releasing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was supposed to be a farewell show at the O2 Arena on 30 September, 2018.
However, they stayed together, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.
Ball recently characterized the duo's new album as a tribute to the New York club scene they visited while making their first two albums.
He noted that his time in hospital had influenced the group's music.
"I had unusual memories when I was in and out of the hospital because I was on pain medication," he told a music magazine.
"The new songs are a digital reflection of the sounds in my mind from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the times me and Marc got up to in the 1980s."
The last versions were completed only a short time before Ball died. It is scheduled for release in the spring of 2026.
