The talented musician, one half of the groundbreaking 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the pair achieved a worldwide hit with their cover of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a classic of electronic music.
He subsequently founded the innovative techno group The Grid, who achieved chart success with their 1994 single the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully in his rest at his residence in London on October 22, just weeks after performing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in Henley-on-Thames.
Health Struggles
At that show, Ball performed in a mobility chair, as he had for the last two years, following a spate of health issues.
"I managed to damage myself quite a bit," he stated in a recent interview. "I broke lower vertebrae in my spine and fractured about five ribs and fractured my wrist."
After catching pneumonia and suffering from sepsis, he was put in an induced coma and stayed in hospital for half a year.
Nevertheless, he had been in "high spirits mentally" over the warmer months, as he worked on a new album with Almond, called the upcoming Danceteria, which is scheduled for release in the coming year.
"He was focused and very pleased with the new album that we actually 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 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 described his bandmate 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 part of my existence and for the songs you gave me. I couldn't be where I am without your influence."
Richard Norris from The Grid, shared his condolences, remembering Ball's "constant humor" and "unwavering friendship".
"Forming a partnership with someone is distinct from joining a group, the connection is very tight," he added.
"That was the case with us. We experienced so many remarkable, incredible, life-affirming moments together. Many thanks, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a single-parent household in the city of Chester in 1959, Ball was put up for adoption when he was a year and a half of age.
He was raised in Blackpool with adoptive parents his caregivers, who changed his first name from Paul to David, together with his sibling Susan, who was also adopted.
He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both studying fine arts. Inspired by a shared love of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and quickly recorded an extended play.
Creative Collaboration
The pair were an unusual pairing: Ball was the quiet musician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all glitter and eye-liner; but they achieved a unique creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with electronic instruments after viewing the band Kraftwerk perform on a television science show Tomorrow's World, and began to combine dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.
Their signature song became the UK's second biggest-selling song of the early 80s, shifting 21 million units worldwide. Alongside hits by Gary Numan, Human League and electronic acts, it helped cleared the path for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The track was also featured on their first album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, 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 the following year.
Career Highlights
Success had its upsides. "I loved being able to purchase my first home, having financial security and exploring, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball not long ago told with a music magazine.
But it also presented problems. "Sudden riches meant we could purchase substances to relieve the boredom" of media interviews and TV performances, Ball said.
"I realize that's a common saying, but it's a cliché for a good reason, because it applies for so many musicians."
During the hedonistic lifestyle, the pair were also growing distant, but they succeeded to create a follow-up memorable record - the wayward, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out another album, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band to concentrate on individual endeavors.
Almond proceeded to have a successful individual path, 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 collaboration.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, releasing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.
After another break, they returned in 2018, releasing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was intended to be a farewell show at the O2 Arena on September 30, 2018.
Yet, they stayed together, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic restrictions.
Ball lately characterized the band's new album as a homage to the New York club scene they frequented while making their initial records.
He added that his period in hospital had shaped the band's sound.
"I had strange recollections when I was coming and going of hospital because I was on morphine," he told a music magazine.
"The new songs are a digital reflection of the sounds in my mind from that time.
"Simultaneously, it's about the times we had in the 80s."
The final mixes were finished only days before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for launch in the spring of 2026.
