The talented musician, a key member of the innovative 1980s synth-pop band Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Together with singer Marc Almond, the team scored a worldwide hit with their cover 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 electronic music.
He later formed the pioneering electronic act The Grid, who secured chart success with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball died peacefully in his sleep at his residence in London on October 22, just weeks after performing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in the Thames-side town.
Health Struggles
During that performance, Ball performed in a mobility chair, as he had for the last two years, after a spate of health issues.
"I managed to damage myself significantly," he commented in 2023. "I fractured spinal bones in my spine and fractured about five ribs and broke my arm."
After contracting pneumonia and developing sepsis, he was placed in an medically-induced sleep and remained in hospital for half a year.
Nevertheless, he had been in "high spirits emotionally" during the summer, as he was developing a new album with Almond, called Danceteria, which is set 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 singer in a heartfelt message.
"It's truly heartbreaking as 2026 was all set to be such an uplifting 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."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond referred to his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", adding: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our body of work.
"Thank you Dave for being an immense part of my existence and for the music you gave me. I wouldn't be where I am without your influence."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, also paid tribute, recalling Ball's "constant humor" and "steadfast support".
"Forming a partnership with someone is different from being in a band, the bond is very tight," he added.
"That was the case with us. We experienced so many remarkable, incredible, memorable moments as a team. Thank you, Dave."
Early Life
Born into a single-parent household in the city of Chester in the late 50s, Ball was put up for adoption when he was a year and a half old.
He grew up in Blackpool with his new family Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his given name from Paul to David, together with his younger sister his sister, who was also adopted.
He encountered Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both learning fine arts. Inspired by a mutual passion of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and quickly produced an EP.
Creative Collaboration
The pair were an distinctive combination: Ball was the reserved musician, hunched over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all glitter and eye-liner; but they attained a rare musical alchemy.
Ball had developed a interest with synthesizers after watching Kraftwerk appear on a television program a popular series, and began to marry dark electronica to the catchy tunes Almond was composing.
Their signature song became the UK's second biggest-selling song of 1981, shifting 21 million copies worldwide. Together with successful tracks by other artists, Human League and electronic acts, 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 record up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which peaked at the second position in 1982.
Career Highlights
Success had its benefits. "I enjoyed 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 publication.
But it also presented problems. "Sudden riches meant we could purchase substances to alleviate the monotony" of media interviews and television shows, Ball explained.
"I know that's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a good reason, because it applies for so many bands."
During the hedonistic lifestyle, the duo were also drifting apart, but they managed to create a follow-up memorable record - the wayward, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out another LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the band to focus on individual endeavors.
Almond went on to have a successful solo career, featuring the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who mixed dance music with melodic sounds over a enduring partnership.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell came back together in the early 2000s, producing the charting record Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following another hiatus, 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 O2 Arena on September 30, 2018.
Yet, they remained together, recording their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic restrictions.
Ball lately described the band's new album as a tribute to the New York club scene they frequented while recording their initial records.
He added that his period in medical care had influenced the group's music.
"I had strange recollections when I was coming and going of the hospital because I was on morphine," he explained to a publication.
"The new songs are a electronic representation of the noises in my mind from those days.
"In parallel, it's about the times we had in the 1980s."
The final mixes were completed only days before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for release in the spring of 2026.
