The talented musician, one half of the innovative 1980s synth-pop band Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Together with singer Marc Almond, the team scored a worldwide hit with their cover of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a classic of electronic music.
He subsequently formed the pioneering techno group The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with their 1994 single Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully in his sleep at his home in London on Wednesday 22 October, just weeks after performing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in the Thames-side town.
Health Struggles
At that performance, Ball performed in a wheelchair, as he had for the last two years, after a spate of health issues.
"I ended up injure myself significantly," he commented in 2023. "I fractured spinal bones in my spine and cracked about multiple ribs and broke my wrist."
Following contracting pneumonia and developing sepsis, he was put in an induced coma and remained in hospital for half a year.
However, he had been in "a great place emotionally" during the summer, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, called the upcoming Danceteria, which is set for publication in the coming year.
"He was concentrated and very pleased with the latest project that we actually completed only a few days ago," said the singer in a tribute.
"It's truly heartbreaking as 2026 was all set to be such an uplifting time for him, and I find comfort from the knowledge that he heard the finished record and felt that it was a great piece of work."
Tributes
Almond referred to his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", stating: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our legacy.
"Many thanks Dave for being an immense part of my life and for the songs you gave me. I wouldn't be where I am without your influence."
Richard Norris from The Grid, shared his condolences, remembering Ball's "endless laughter" and "unwavering friendship".
"Being in a partnership with someone is different from being in a band, the bond is very tight," he added.
"That's how it was with us. We went through so many remarkable, extraordinary, memorable moments as a team. Thank you, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a one-parent family in the city of Chester in the late 50s, Ball was given up for adoption when he was a year and a half old.
He grew up in the seaside town with his new family his caregivers, who changed his given name from his birth name to David, alongside his younger sister his sister, who was similarly welcomed.
He met Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both studying fine arts. 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 unusual pairing: Ball was the quiet musician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they attained a rare creative synergy.
Ball had developed a fascination with electronic instruments after viewing the band Kraftwerk perform on a television program Tomorrow's World, and began to marry moody electronic sounds to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second biggest-selling song of the early 80s, shifting millions of units globally. Alongside hits by other artists, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it helped paved the way for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The track was also featured on their full-length debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which produced two further high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the record up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which peaked at the second position in 1982.
Career Highlights
Success had its benefits. "I loved being able to purchase my first home, having financial security and exploring, which makes me sound like a Miss World," Ball not long ago shared with a music magazine.
But it also presented problems. "Newfound wealth allowed we could afford newfound drugs to relieve the boredom" of press appearances and TV performances, Ball said.
"I know that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a good reason, because it applies for so many bands."
Amidst the party-filled existence, the pair were also drifting apart, but they managed to create a follow-up classic album - the wayward, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released another LP, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group to concentrate on individual endeavors.
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 mixed dance music with melodic sounds over a long-lasting collaboration.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell came back together in 2001, releasing the charting record Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following another hiatus, they reappeared in recent years, releasing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was intended to be a farewell show at the large venue on 30 September, 2018.
Yet, they remained together, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.
Ball lately characterized the duo's new album as a tribute to the NYC nightlife they visited while making their first two albums.
He noted that his period in medical care had influenced the group's music.
"I had strange recollections when I was coming and going of hospital because I was on pain medication," he told a music magazine.
"Our latest tracks are a digital reflection of the noises in my mind from that time.
"Simultaneously, it's about the times we had in the 80s."
The final mixes were finished only a short time before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for release in Spring 2026.
