The talented musician, a key member of the groundbreaking 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Together with singer Marc Almond, the pair scored a worldwide hit with their version of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in 1984, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a classic of electronic music.
He subsequently founded the innovative electronic act The Grid, who secured chart success with 1994's Swamp Thing.
Ball died calmly in his rest at his residence in London on Wednesday 22 October, just weeks after playing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event 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 health issues.
"I ended up injure myself significantly," he commented in a recent interview. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my back and fractured about five ribs and broke my wrist."
After contracting pneumonia and developing sepsis, he was placed in an induced coma and remained in hospital for half a year.
Nevertheless, he had been in "a great place mentally" during the summer, as he was developing a new album with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is set for publication next year.
"He was concentrated and very pleased with the new album that we literally completed only a few days ago," said the singer in a tribute.
"It's truly heartbreaking as 2026 was completely planned to be such an positive year for him, and I take some solace from the fact that he listened to the completed album and felt that it was a masterpiece."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond referred to his bandmate as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", adding: "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 music you gave 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".
"Forming a partnership with someone is different from joining a band, the connection is very tight," he added.
"That was the case with us. We experienced so many remarkable, extraordinary, memorable moments as a team. Many thanks, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a one-parent family in the city of Chester in the late 50s, Ball was given up for adoption when he was 18 months of age.
He was raised in Blackpool with adoptive parents his caregivers, who changed his given name from his birth name to David, alongside his younger sister Susan, who was similarly welcomed.
He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both learning fine arts. Inspired by a shared love of Northern Soul, they formed Soft Cell the very year, and quickly recorded an EP.
Creative Collaboration
The pair were an distinctive combination: Ball was the quiet technician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic showman, all sparkle and makeup; but they achieved a rare musical alchemy.
Ball had developed a fascination with electronic instruments after viewing Kraftwerk perform on a television program a popular series, and started to marry dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second most popular song of the early 80s, shifting 21 million copies worldwide. Alongside successful tracks by other artists, Human League and Ultravox, it helped paved the way for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The track was also included on their full-length debut, their initial LP, which spawned two additional high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the record up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which peaked at the second position in 1982.
Career Highlights
Success had its upsides. "I enjoyed being able to afford my first home, having financial security and travelling, which might seem like a beauty queen," Ball recently told with a music magazine.
But it also presented challenges. "Newfound wealth meant we could purchase newfound drugs to alleviate the monotony" of media interviews and TV performances, Ball explained.
"I know that's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a valid cause, because it applies for so many bands."
Amidst the party-filled existence, the pair were also drifting apart, but they managed to produce a second memorable record - the unconventional, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released one more LP, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band to concentrate on individual endeavors.
Almond went on to have a prosperous individual path, including the top 10 hit 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.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell came back together in the early 2000s, producing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following a further hiatus, they returned in recent years, releasing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was supposed to be a farewell show at the O2 Arena on 30 September, 2018.
Yet, they remained active, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.
Ball lately described the duo's upcoming release as a homage to the NYC nightlife they frequented while recording their initial records.
He noted that his time in hospital had shaped the band's sound.
"I had strange recollections when I was in and out of the hospital because I was on pain medication," he explained to 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 final mixes were completed only a short time before Ball died. It is due for launch in the spring of 2026.
