The talented musician, one half of the groundbreaking 1980s electronic music band 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 1984, and their first record their initial full-length release is regarded as a classic of synth-pop.
He later founded the innovative techno group The Grid, who secured chart success with their 1994 single the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball died calmly in his sleep at his home in London on October 22, just weeks after playing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in the Thames-side town.
Health Struggles
During that show, Ball performed in a mobility chair, as he had for the last two years, following a period of ill-health.
"I ended up damage myself significantly," he commented in a recent interview. "I broke spinal bones in my back and fractured about multiple ribs and fractured my wrist."
After catching pneumonia and developing sepsis, he was placed in an medically-induced sleep and stayed in hospital for seven months.
However, he had been in "a great place emotionally" during the warmer months, as he worked on a new album with Almond, titled the upcoming Danceteria, which is set for release in the coming year.
"He was focused and very pleased with the latest project that we actually finished only a short time ago," said the vocalist in a heartfelt message.
"It's truly heartbreaking as 2026 was all set to be such an positive time for him, and I find comfort from the knowledge that he heard the finished record and felt that it was a masterpiece."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond described his bandmate as "a wonderfully brilliant musical genius", stating: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our legacy.
"Many thanks Dave for being an immense aspect of my existence and for the music you gave me. I couldn't be where I am without your influence."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, also paid tribute, recalling Ball's "endless laughter" and "steadfast support".
"Forming a partnership with someone is different from joining a group, the bond is incredibly close," he added.
"That's how it was with us. We experienced so many extraordinary, incredible, life-affirming experiences as a team. Thank you, Dave."
Formative Years
Born into a one-parent family in the city of Chester in the late 50s, Ball was put up for adoption when he was 18 months old.
He was raised in the seaside town with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who altered his given name from his birth name to David, together with his younger sister his sister, who was also adopted.
He met Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both studying art. Inspired by a mutual passion of Northern Soul, they formed Soft Cell the very year, and quickly recorded an EP.
Creative Collaboration
The duo were an distinctive combination: Ball was the reserved technician, hunched over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they achieved a unique creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with synthesizers 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 writing.
Their signature song became the UK's second most popular song of the early 80s, selling 21 million copies globally. Together with hits by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it contributed to paved the way for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.
The song was also featured on their full-length debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which produced two further high-charting hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the album 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 initial property, having financial security and travelling, which might seem like a beauty queen," Ball not long ago told with a music magazine.
But it also caused challenges. "Newfound wealth allowed we could afford newfound drugs to alleviate the monotony" of media interviews and television shows, Ball explained.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a good reason, because it applies for so many bands."
During the party-filled existence, the pair were also drifting apart, but they managed to create a second memorable record - the wayward, edgy and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out one more album, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band to concentrate on other projects.
Almond proceeded to have a successful individual path, including the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who mixed dance music with ambient pop over a long-lasting collaboration.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell reunited in 2001, releasing the Top 40 album Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following a further hiatus, they returned in recent years, issuing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was supposed to be a final performance at the O2 Arena on 30 September, 2018.
Yet, they remained active, recording their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.
Ball lately described the duo's new album as a homage to the New York club scene they frequented while recording their initial records.
He added that his time in medical care had influenced the band's sound.
"I experienced strange recollections when I was coming and going of hospital because I was on morphine," he explained to a music magazine.
"Our latest tracks are a electronic representation of the noises in my head from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the times we got up to in the 1980s."
The last versions were completed only a short time before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for launch in the spring of 2026.
