The talented musician, one half of the innovative 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the team achieved a worldwide hit with their version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their debut album their initial full-length release is considered a seminal work of synth-pop.
He later founded the pioneering electronic act The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with their 1994 single the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball died calmly in his sleep at his residence in London on Wednesday 22 October, just weeks after playing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in the Thames-side town.
Recent Health Challenges
At that performance, Ball performed in a mobility chair, as he had for the previous couple of years, after a period of ill-health.
"I managed to damage myself quite a bit," he stated in 2023. "I broke spinal bones in my spine and fractured about five ribs and fractured my arm."
Following contracting pneumonia and developing sepsis, he was put in an induced coma and stayed in the hospital for half a year.
Nevertheless, he had been in "a great place mentally" over the warmer months, as he worked on a new album with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication in the coming year.
"He was focused and so happy with the latest project that we literally finished only a short time ago," said the singer in a tribute.
"It's so sad as 2026 was completely planned to be such an uplifting year for him, and I take some solace from the fact that he heard the finished record and felt that it was a great piece of work."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond described his collaborator as "an exceptionally talented musical genius", adding: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our legacy.
"Thank you Dave for being an significant aspect of my existence and for the songs you gave me. I couldn't be where I am without your influence."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, shared his condolences, recalling Ball's "endless laughter" and "steadfast support".
"Being in a partnership with someone is different from joining a group, the connection is very tight," he continued.
"That's how it was with us. We went through so many remarkable, incredible, memorable moments as a team. Many thanks, Dave."
Formative Years
Born into a single-parent household in Chester in 1959, Ball was put up for adoption when he was a year and a half old.
He was raised in Blackpool with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his first name from Paul to David, alongside his younger sister Susan, who was similarly welcomed.
He encountered Almond at an art college in the late 70s, where they were both learning art. Fuelled by a mutual passion of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the very year, and quickly recorded an EP.
Musical Partnership
The duo were an distinctive combination: Ball was the quiet technician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all sparkle and makeup; but they achieved a unique creative synergy.
Ball had developed a fascination with electronic instruments after viewing the band Kraftwerk appear on BBC science show a popular series, and began to combine dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second biggest-selling single of 1981, selling 21 million copies worldwide. Together with hits by other artists, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it contributed to cleared the way for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.
The song was also featured on their first album, their initial LP, which produced two further high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the album up with the separate release, Torch, which peaked at number two in the following year.
Professional Journey
Success had its benefits. "I enjoyed being able to afford my first home, having money and travelling, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball recently shared with a publication.
But it also caused challenges. "Newfound wealth meant we could purchase newfound drugs to relieve the monotony" of media interviews and television shows, Ball explained.
"I know that's a common saying, but it's a truism for a valid cause, because it works for so many bands."
During the party-filled existence, the duo were also drifting apart, but they succeeded to create a second memorable record - the wayward, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released one more album, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band to concentrate on other projects.
Almond went on to have a prosperous individual path, including the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who combined acid house with ambient pop over a long-lasting collaboration.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell came back together in 2001, releasing the charting album Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following another break, they reappeared in recent years, releasing 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, 2018.
Yet, they remained active, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic restrictions.
Ball recently described the band's new album as a homage to the New York club scene they frequented while recording their first two albums.
He noted that his period in hospital had influenced the group's music.
"I experienced strange recollections when I was coming and going of hospital because I was on morphine," he told a music magazine.
"The new songs are a electronic representation of the sounds in my head from that time.
"In parallel, it's about the times we had in the 1980s."
The last versions were finished only a short time before Ball passed away. It is due for launch in the spring of 2026.
