The talented musician, a key member of the pioneering 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the team scored a global success with their cover of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record their initial full-length release is regarded as a seminal work of electronic music.
He subsequently formed the innovative electronic act The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball died peacefully in his sleep at his residence in London on Wednesday 22 October, just weeks after performing a headline show 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 previous couple of years, following a spate of health issues.
"I managed to damage myself quite a bit," he stated in a recent interview. "I fractured spinal bones in my spine and cracked about five ribs and broke my wrist."
After catching a lung infection and suffering from blood poisoning, he was placed in an induced coma and remained in the hospital for seven months.
However, he had been in "a great place mentally" over the summer, as he was developing a new album with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is scheduled for release in the coming year.
"He was concentrated and very pleased with the latest project that we literally completed only a few days ago," stated the singer in a heartfelt message.
"It's so sad as 2026 was completely planned to be such an positive time for him, and I take some solace from the knowledge that he heard the finished record and felt that it was a great piece of work."
Tributes
Almond described his collaborator as "an exceptionally talented creative mastermind", adding: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our body of work.
"Many thanks Dave for being an immense part of my life and for the songs you created with me. I wouldn't be where I am without you."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, also paid tribute, recalling Ball's "constant humor" and "unwavering friendship".
"Forming a partnership with someone is distinct from being in a band, the bond is very tight," he continued.
"That was the case with us. We went through so many extraordinary, incredible, life-affirming experiences together. Many thanks, Dave."
Formative Years
Born 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 the seaside town with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who altered his first name from his birth name to his adopted name, alongside his younger sister Susan, who was also adopted.
He met Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in the late 70s, where they were both studying art. Fuelled by a mutual passion of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and promptly recorded an EP.
Musical Partnership
The duo were an unusual combination: Ball was the quiet musician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all glitter and makeup; but they attained a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with electronic instruments after viewing the band Kraftwerk perform on BBC science show a popular series, and began to combine dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second biggest-selling single of 1981, shifting 21 million copies globally. Together with hits by other artists, Human League and electronic acts, it contributed to cleared the way for the synth-pop sound of the 80s.
The song was also included on their first album, their initial LP, which produced two additional high-charting hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the record up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which reached at the second position in the following year.
Career Highlights
Success had its benefits. "I loved being able to purchase my initial property, having financial security and travelling, which makes me sound like a Miss World," Ball recently shared with a publication.
But it also caused challenges. "Sudden riches meant we could purchase substances to alleviate the boredom" of press appearances and television shows, Ball said.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a valid cause, because it applies for so many bands."
Amidst the party-filled existence, the duo were also drifting apart, but they succeeded to produce a second classic album - the wayward, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out one more LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the band to concentrate on other projects.
Almond proceeded to have a prosperous solo career, featuring the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who combined acid house with ambient pop over a enduring partnership.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell came back together in the early 2000s, releasing the charting record Cruelty Without Beauty.
After another hiatus, they reappeared in recent years, issuing 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, that year.
Yet, they remained active, recording their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.
Ball lately characterized the band's new album as a tribute to the NYC nightlife they visited while making their initial records.
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 told a publication.
"The new songs are a digital reflection of the sounds in my head from those days.
"In parallel, it's about the times we got up to in the 80s."
The final mixes were completed only a short time before Ball died. It is due for release in the spring of 2026.
