The talented musician, a key member of the pioneering 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the team scored a global success with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a seminal work of electronic music.
He later founded the pioneering electronic act The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with 1994's Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his sleep at his residence in London on Wednesday 22 October, only a short time after playing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in the Thames-side town.
Health Struggles
During that performance, Ball appeared in a mobility chair, as he had for the last two years, after a spate of ill-health.
"I ended up damage myself quite a bit," he commented in a recent interview. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my spine and cracked about multiple ribs and fractured my wrist."
After catching a lung infection and developing sepsis, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and remained in the hospital for half a year.
However, he had been in "a great place mentally" over the summer, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication in the coming year.
"He was concentrated and so happy with the latest project that we actually finished only a short time ago," stated the vocalist in a heartfelt message.
"It's truly heartbreaking as 2026 was completely planned to be such an uplifting year for him, and I take some solace from the knowledge that he listened to the completed album and felt that it was a great piece of work."
Tributes
Almond described his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant musical genius", 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 significant aspect of my life and for the songs you gave me. I couldn't be where I am without you."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, also paid tribute, remembering Ball's "endless laughter" and "unwavering friendship".
"Forming a duo with someone is distinct from joining a group, the connection is very tight," he added.
"That was the case with us. We went through so many extraordinary, incredible, life-affirming moments together. Thank you, Dave."
Formative Years
Born into a single-parent household in the city of Chester in 1959, Ball was given up for adoption when he was a year and a half of age.
He grew up in the seaside town with his new family his caregivers, who altered his first name from his birth name to David, together with his younger sister Susan, who was also adopted.
He encountered Almond at an art college in the late 70s, where they were both studying fine arts. Inspired by a mutual passion of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the very year, and quickly recorded an extended play.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an distinctive combination: Ball was the quiet musician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant showman, all glitter and eye-liner; but they attained a unique creative synergy.
Ball had developed a interest with electronic instruments after viewing Kraftwerk perform on a television science show Tomorrow's World, and started to marry moody electronic sounds to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second biggest-selling single of 1981, shifting millions of copies worldwide. Alongside hits by other artists, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it helped cleared the way for the electronic music style of the 80s.
The track was also featured on their full-length debut, their initial LP, which produced two further top five singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the album up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which peaked at number two in 1982.
Professional Journey
Fame had its benefits. "I enjoyed being able to afford my first home, having financial security and exploring, which makes me sound like a Miss World," Ball recently shared with a publication.
But it also caused problems. "Sudden riches allowed we could purchase newfound drugs to alleviate the monotony" of press appearances and television shows, Ball explained.
"I know that's a common saying, but it's a truism for a valid cause, because it applies for so many bands."
During the party-filled existence, the duo were also growing distant, but they succeeded to create a second memorable record - the unconventional, edgy and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released another LP, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the group to focus on individual endeavors.
Almond went on to have a prosperous individual path, including the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who mixed acid house with ambient pop over a long-lasting partnership.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell came back together in the early 2000s, producing the charting record Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following a further hiatus, they reappeared in recent years, releasing the new tracks 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 stayed together, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.
Ball lately described the duo's new album as a homage to the New York club scene they frequented while recording their first two albums.
He added that his period in hospital had shaped the group's music.
"I experienced unusual memories when I was in and out of the hospital because I was on morphine," he told a publication.
"The new songs are a electronic representation of the sounds in my head from that time.
"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences me and Marc had in the 80s."
The final mixes were finished only days before Ball passed away. It is due for launch in Spring 2026.
