The talented musician, a key member of the innovative 1980s synth-pop band Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Together with vocalist Marc Almond, the pair achieved a global success with their version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in 1984, and their debut album their initial full-length release is considered a classic of electronic music.
He later founded the innovative electronic act The Grid, who secured chart success with their 1994 single the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his sleep at his residence in London on October 22, just weeks after playing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in Henley-on-Thames.
Recent Health Challenges
At that performance, Ball appeared in a wheelchair, as he had for the last two years, after a period of ill-health.
"I managed to injure myself significantly," he commented in a recent interview. "I broke spinal bones in my spine and cracked about multiple ribs and broke my wrist."
Following contracting a lung infection and developing blood poisoning, he was put in an induced coma and remained in the hospital for half a year.
However, he had been in "a great place emotionally" during the summer, as he was developing a new album with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is scheduled for release next year.
"He was focused and so happy with the latest project that we literally finished only a short time ago," stated the vocalist in a tribute.
"It's so sad as 2026 was completely planned to be such an uplifting year for him, and I find comfort from the fact that he heard the finished record and felt that it was a masterpiece."
Tributes
Almond described his bandmate as "an exceptionally talented creative mastermind", adding: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our legacy.
"Many thanks Dave for being an significant part of my life and for the songs you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without you."
Richard Norris from The Grid, also paid tribute, recalling Ball's "endless laughter" and "steadfast support".
"Forming a duo with someone is distinct from joining a band, the connection is incredibly close," he added.
"That's how it was with us. We experienced so many remarkable, incredible, life-affirming moments together. Many thanks, Dave."
Early Life
Born into a one-parent family in Chester in the late 50s, Ball was given up for adoption when he was a year and a half old.
He grew up in Blackpool with adoptive parents his caregivers, who changed his given name from his birth name to David, alongside his younger sister Susan, who was also adopted.
He met Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both learning art. Inspired by a mutual passion of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the very year, and promptly recorded an EP.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an unusual combination: Ball was the reserved musician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant showman, all glitter and eye-liner; but they attained a rare creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with synthesizers after viewing Kraftwerk perform on a television science show a popular series, and started to marry moody electronic sounds to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second biggest-selling single of the early 80s, selling 21 million copies globally. Together with hits by Gary Numan, Human League and Ultravox, it contributed to cleared the path for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.
The song was also included on their full-length debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which spawned two further top five singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the album up with the separate release, Torch, which peaked at the second position in 1982.
Professional Journey
Success had its upsides. "I enjoyed being able to afford my initial property, having financial security and exploring, which might seem like a beauty queen," Ball not long ago told with a publication.
But it also caused challenges. "Sudden riches allowed we could purchase newfound drugs to relieve the monotony" of press appearances and television shows, Ball explained.
"I realize that's a common saying, but it's a truism for a valid cause, because it works for so many musicians."
During the hedonistic lifestyle, the pair were also growing distant, but they succeeded to produce a follow-up classic album - the unconventional, edgy and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released another album, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the band to concentrate on individual endeavors.
Almond went on to have a prosperous individual path, featuring the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who mixed acid house with melodic sounds over a enduring partnership.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell came back together in 2001, releasing the Top 40 album Cruelty Without Beauty.
After another break, 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 final performance at the large venue on 30 September, that year.
Yet, they remained together, recording their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.
Ball lately described the band's upcoming release as a tribute to the New York club scene they visited while making their initial records.
He noted that his period in hospital had influenced the band's sound.
"I experienced unusual memories when I was in and out of the hospital because I was on pain medication," he told a music magazine.
"Our latest tracks are a digital reflection of the sounds in my head from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences we had in the 1980s."
The last versions were completed only a short time before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for launch in Spring 2026.
