The talented musician, a key member of the innovative 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the duo achieved a global success with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in 1984, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a classic of electronic music.
He later founded the innovative electronic act The Grid, who achieved chart success with 1994's Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully in his sleep at his residence in London on Wednesday 22 October, just weeks after playing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in the Thames-side town.
Health Struggles
During that performance, Ball performed in a mobility chair, as he had for the last two years, after a spate of ill-health.
"I ended up injure myself quite a bit," he stated in 2023. "I broke lower vertebrae in my spine and fractured about five ribs and fractured my arm."
Following contracting pneumonia and developing sepsis, he was placed in an induced coma and stayed in hospital for seven months.
Nevertheless, he had been in "high spirits mentally" during the warmer months, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, called the upcoming Danceteria, which is scheduled for release in the coming year.
"He was concentrated and very pleased with the latest project that we literally finished only a few days ago," said the vocalist in a tribute.
"It's so sad as 2026 was all set to be such an uplifting time for him, and I take some solace from the knowledge that he heard the completed album and believed that it was a masterpiece."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond described his bandmate as "an exceptionally talented musical genius", adding: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our legacy.
"Thank you Dave for being an significant aspect of my life and for the songs you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without your influence."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, shared his condolences, recalling Ball's "constant humor" and "steadfast support".
"Forming a partnership with someone is different from joining a band, the bond is very tight," he continued.
"That was the case with us. We experienced so many remarkable, incredible, life-affirming moments as a team. Many thanks, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a one-parent family in Chester in the late 50s, 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 Donald and Brenda Ball, 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 the late 70s, where they were both learning art. Inspired by a mutual passion of Northern Soul, they formed Soft Cell the very year, and promptly produced an extended play.
Creative Collaboration
The duo were an distinctive pairing: Ball was the reserved musician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all glitter and eye-liner; but they achieved a rare creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with synthesizers after watching the band Kraftwerk perform on a television science show Tomorrow's World, and began to combine dark electronica to the catchy tunes Almond was composing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second biggest-selling song of the early 80s, selling millions of copies worldwide. Together with successful tracks by other artists, Human League and Ultravox, it contributed to cleared the path for the electronic music style of the 80s.
The song was also included on their full-length debut, their initial LP, which spawned 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 the following year.
Professional Journey
Success had its upsides. "I enjoyed being able to afford my initial property, having money and travelling, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball recently shared with a publication.
But it also presented challenges. "Newfound wealth allowed we could afford newfound drugs to alleviate the boredom" of media interviews and television shows, Ball explained.
"I know that's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a valid cause, because it applies for so many musicians."
Amidst the party-filled existence, the pair were also drifting apart, but they managed to produce a follow-up memorable record - the wayward, edgy and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out one more LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band to focus on other projects.
Almond went on to have a successful 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 enduring collaboration.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell came back together in 2001, producing the Top 40 album Cruelty Without Beauty.
After a further break, they returned in 2018, 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 O2 Arena on September 30, 2018.
However, they remained active, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic restrictions.
Ball lately described the band's new album as a tribute to the New York club scene they frequented while recording their first two albums.
He noted that his period in hospital had influenced the band's sound.
"I experienced strange recollections when I was coming and going of the hospital because I was on morphine," he explained to a publication.
"The new songs are a digital reflection of the sounds in my mind from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences we had in the 1980s."
The final mixes were finished only days before Ball died. It is due for launch in the spring of 2026.
