The talented musician, a key member of the pioneering 1980s synth-pop duo Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Alongside vocalist Marc Almond, the duo scored a global success with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their debut album their initial full-length release is regarded as a seminal work of synth-pop.
He later founded the pioneering electronic act The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with their 1994 single Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his sleep at his home in London on October 22, just weeks after performing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in Henley-on-Thames.
Health Struggles
During that performance, Ball appeared in a wheelchair, as he had for the previous couple of years, after a period of ill-health.
"I ended up injure myself significantly," he commented in 2023. "I fractured spinal bones in my spine and fractured about multiple ribs and fractured my wrist."
After contracting a lung infection and developing blood poisoning, he was placed in an induced coma and stayed in the hospital for seven months.
However, he had been in "high spirits emotionally" during the warmer months, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, called Danceteria, which is set for publication in the coming year.
"He was concentrated and so happy with the new album that we literally completed only a few days ago," stated the singer in a tribute.
"It's so sad as 2026 was completely planned to be such an positive time for him, and I find comfort from the fact that he heard the finished record and felt that it was a masterpiece."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond described his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant 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 immense part of my life and for the music you created with me. I wouldn't be where I am without you."
Richard Norris from The Grid, also paid tribute, recalling Ball's "endless laughter" and "steadfast support".
"Being in a duo with someone is different from joining a band, the connection is incredibly close," he added.
"That was the case with us. We went through so many remarkable, extraordinary, life-affirming experiences as a team. Many thanks, Dave."
Early Life
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 adoptive parents his caregivers, who altered his given name from his birth name to David, together with his sibling Susan, who was also adopted.
He encountered Almond at an art college in the late 70s, where they were both studying art. Fuelled by a shared love of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the same year, and quickly produced an EP.
Musical Partnership
The duo were an unusual combination: Ball was the reserved technician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant showman, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they achieved a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had developed a interest with electronic instruments after viewing the band Kraftwerk perform on a television program Tomorrow's World, and started to combine moody electronic sounds to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.
Their signature song became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling song of the early 80s, selling millions of units worldwide. Alongside hits by Gary Numan, Human League and electronic acts, it helped cleared the path for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The song was also included 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 number two in 1982.
Career Highlights
Fame had its benefits. "I loved being able to purchase my first home, having money and travelling, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball not long ago told with a publication.
But it also caused challenges. "Newfound wealth allowed we could afford newfound drugs to relieve the boredom" of press appearances and TV performances, Ball said.
"I realize that's a common saying, but it's a truism for a valid cause, because it works for so many bands."
Amidst the party-filled existence, the pair were also growing distant, but they succeeded to create a follow-up memorable record - the wayward, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released one more LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band to focus on individual endeavors.
Almond went on to have a prosperous solo career, featuring the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who mixed dance music with ambient pop over a enduring collaboration.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell came back together in the early 2000s, releasing the Top 40 album 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 staging what was intended to be a final performance at the O2 Arena on 30 September, that year.
Yet, they remained together, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.
Ball recently described the duo's upcoming release as a tribute to the NYC nightlife they frequented while recording their initial records.
He added that his period in hospital had shaped the band's sound.
"I experienced unusual memories when I was in and out of hospital because I was on pain medication," he told a publication.
"Our latest tracks are a electronic representation of the sounds in my head from those days.
"In parallel, it's about the times me and Marc had in the 80s."
The final mixes were finished only a short time before Ball died. It is due for release in the spring of 2026.
