The talented musician, one half of the pioneering 1980s synth-pop band Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the team achieved a global success with their version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their debut album their initial full-length release is regarded as a seminal work of synth-pop.
He later formed the pioneering techno group The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with their 1994 single the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully in his rest at his home in London on October 22, just weeks after performing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in Henley-on-Thames.
Health Struggles
During that show, Ball performed in a wheelchair, as he had for the last two years, after a spate of health issues.
"I managed to injure myself quite a bit," he stated in a recent interview. "I fractured spinal bones in my back and fractured about multiple ribs and fractured my wrist."
Following contracting pneumonia and suffering from sepsis, he was placed in an induced coma and stayed in hospital for half a year.
However, he had been in "high spirits mentally" over the summer, as he worked on a new album with Almond, titled the upcoming Danceteria, which is scheduled for release in the coming year.
"He was concentrated and very pleased with the new album that we actually completed only a short time ago," said the vocalist in a tribute.
"It's so sad as 2026 was completely planned to be such an positive time for him, and I find comfort from the fact that he listened to the finished record and felt that it was a great piece of work."
Tributes
Almond referred to his collaborator as "an exceptionally talented musical genius", stating: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our legacy.
"Thank you Dave for being an immense aspect of my life and for the music you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without you."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, shared his condolences, remembering Ball's "endless laughter" and "steadfast support".
"Being in a duo with someone is different from being in a group, the connection is very tight," he continued.
"That's how it was with us. We went through so many remarkable, incredible, memorable moments as a team. Thank you, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a single-parent household in Chester in 1959, Ball was given up for adoption when he was 18 months old.
He was raised in Blackpool with his new family Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his first name from his birth name to David, alongside his younger sister Susan, who was similarly welcomed.
He met Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both studying fine arts. Fuelled by a mutual passion of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and promptly produced an EP.
Creative Collaboration
The duo were an distinctive pairing: Ball was the quiet musician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all glitter and makeup; but they achieved a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had developed a fascination with electronic instruments after viewing Kraftwerk appear on BBC program Tomorrow's World, and started to combine dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling song of the early 80s, shifting millions of copies globally. Together with hits by other artists, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it helped cleared the way for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.
The track was also featured on their first album, their initial LP, which spawned two additional high-charting singles: 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.
Professional Journey
Fame had its benefits. "I enjoyed being able to purchase my first home, having financial security and travelling, which might seem like a beauty queen," Ball recently shared with a publication.
But it also presented challenges. "Sudden riches meant we could afford substances to relieve the monotony" of media interviews and television shows, Ball said.
"I know that's a common saying, but it's a truism for a good reason, because it works for so many musicians."
During the party-filled existence, the pair were also growing distant, but they managed to produce a follow-up memorable record - the unconventional, tense and aptly-titled 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 proceeded to have a successful solo career, including the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who combined dance music with ambient pop over a long-lasting partnership.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell reunited in 2001, releasing the charting record Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following a further hiatus, they returned in 2018, releasing 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, that year.
However, they remained active, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic restrictions.
Ball lately described the duo's new album as a homage to the New York club scene they visited while recording their first two albums.
He noted that his time in hospital had influenced the band's sound.
"I had strange recollections when I was coming and going of hospital because I was on morphine," he explained to a publication.
"The new songs are a digital reflection of the noises in my head from those days.
"In parallel, it's about the experiences me and Marc got up to in the 80s."
The final mixes were finished only days before Ball passed away. It is due for release in Spring 2026.
