The talented musician, one half of the innovative 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Together with vocalist Marc Almond, the team scored a global success with their version of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record their initial full-length release is considered a seminal work of synth-pop.
He subsequently founded the innovative electronic act The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with their 1994 single the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball died peacefully in his rest at his residence in London on Wednesday 22 October, only a short time after performing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in Henley-on-Thames.
Health Struggles
During that show, Ball performed in a mobility chair, 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 2023. "I fractured spinal bones in my back and cracked about multiple ribs and fractured my arm."
After catching a lung infection and developing blood poisoning, he was placed in an induced coma and stayed in hospital for seven months.
Nevertheless, he had been in "high spirits emotionally" during the summer, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is set for release in the coming year.
"He was focused and very pleased with the new album that we literally finished only a few days ago," stated the singer in a heartfelt message.
"It's truly heartbreaking as 2026 was all set to be such an uplifting year for him, and I take some solace from the knowledge that he listened to the completed album and believed that it was a masterpiece."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond described his collaborator as "an exceptionally talented musical genius", adding: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our body of work.
"Many thanks Dave for being an significant aspect of my existence and for the music you gave me. I wouldn't be where I am without you."
Richard Norris from The Grid, shared his condolences, remembering Ball's "constant humor" and "unwavering friendship".
"Forming a partnership with someone is different 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, memorable experiences together. Thank you, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a one-parent family in Chester in the late 50s, Ball was put up for adoption when he was 18 months of age.
He grew up in Blackpool with adoptive parents his caregivers, who altered his first name from his birth name to his adopted name, together with his sibling his sister, who was similarly welcomed.
He met Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both learning art. Fuelled by a shared love of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the very year, and quickly produced an extended play.
Creative Collaboration
The pair were an unusual combination: Ball was the reserved musician, hunched over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all sparkle and makeup; but they achieved a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with synthesizers after viewing Kraftwerk appear on a television science show a popular series, and began to combine dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second most popular song of 1981, shifting millions of units worldwide. Together with hits by other artists, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it contributed to paved the way for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The track 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 followed the record up with the separate release, Torch, which peaked at number two in the following year.
Professional Journey
Fame had its upsides. "I loved being able to purchase my first home, having money and travelling, which makes me sound like a Miss World," Ball not long ago shared with a music magazine.
But it also presented challenges. "Sudden riches allowed we could afford substances to alleviate the monotony" of press appearances and television shows, Ball said.
"I know that's a common saying, but it's a cliché for a good reason, because it works for so many bands."
During the hedonistic lifestyle, the pair were also drifting apart, but they succeeded to produce a second classic album - the unconventional, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released another album, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group to concentrate on other projects.
Almond went on to have a prosperous individual path, featuring the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who mixed acid house with melodic sounds over a long-lasting collaboration.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, producing the charting 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 final performance at the large venue on September 30, that year.
However, they remained together, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.
Ball lately described the band's upcoming release as a homage to the New York club scene they frequented while recording their first two albums.
He noted that his time in medical care had shaped the band's sound.
"I experienced unusual memories when I was coming and going of the hospital because I was on morphine," he told a music magazine.
"Our latest tracks are a electronic representation of the sounds in my head from that time.
"Simultaneously, it's about the times we got up to in the 1980s."
The final mixes were completed only a short time before Ball died. It is due for release in the spring of 2026.
