The talented musician, a key member of the innovative 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Together with vocalist 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 subsequently founded the pioneering techno group The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with 1994's Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his rest at his home in London on October 22, only a short time after performing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in Henley-on-Thames.
Health Struggles
At that performance, Ball performed in a wheelchair, as he had for the last two years, following a period of ill-health.
"I ended up damage myself quite a bit," he commented in a recent interview. "I broke spinal bones in my spine and fractured about multiple ribs and fractured my wrist."
Following contracting pneumonia and developing blood poisoning, he was put in an induced coma and stayed in the hospital for seven months.
However, he had been in "a great place emotionally" during the warmer months, as he was developing a fresh record with Almond, called Danceteria, which is scheduled for release in the coming year.
"He was focused and so happy with the new album that we actually completed only a few days ago," said the vocalist 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 listened to the finished record and felt that it was a great piece of work."
Tributes
Almond described his collaborator as "an exceptionally talented creative mastermind", adding: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our body of work.
"Many thanks Dave for being an significant part of my existence and for the songs you gave me. I couldn't be where I am without your influence."
Richard Norris from The Grid, shared his condolences, remembering Ball's "constant humor" and "unwavering friendship".
"Being in a duo with someone is different from being in a group, the connection is incredibly close," he continued.
"That's how it was with us. We went through so many remarkable, incredible, memorable moments together. Thank you, Dave."
Early Life
Born into a one-parent family in the city of Chester in the late 50s, Ball was put up for adoption when he was 18 months old.
He grew up in Blackpool with adoptive parents his caregivers, who altered his first name from Paul to David, together with his younger sister Susan, who was also adopted.
He met Almond at an art college in the late 70s, where they were both learning fine arts. Fuelled by a mutual passion of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the very year, and promptly produced an extended play.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an distinctive pairing: Ball was the reserved technician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic showman, all glitter and makeup; but they attained a unique creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with electronic instruments after viewing the band Kraftwerk appear on BBC science show Tomorrow's World, and started to combine moody electronic sounds to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.
Their signature song became the United Kingdom's second most popular single of 1981, shifting millions of copies worldwide. Together with hits by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it helped paved the way for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.
The song was also featured on their first album, 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.
Professional Journey
Success had its benefits. "I loved being able to afford my first home, having financial security and exploring, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball not long ago told with a music magazine.
But it also presented challenges. "Newfound wealth meant we could purchase newfound drugs to alleviate the boredom" of media interviews and TV performances, Ball said.
"I know that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a valid cause, because it applies for so many musicians."
During the hedonistic lifestyle, the pair were also growing distant, but they managed to create a follow-up classic album - the wayward, edgy and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out one more LP, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the band to concentrate on other projects.
Almond proceeded to have a successful solo career, including the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who mixed dance music with ambient pop over a long-lasting collaboration.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell came back together in 2001, producing the Top 40 album Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following another break, they reappeared in recent years, issuing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was intended to be a farewell show at the O2 Arena on 30 September, 2018.
However, they stayed active, recording their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.
Ball recently described the duo's new album as a homage to the New York club scene they frequented while making their initial records.
He added that his period in medical care had shaped the group's music.
"I had strange recollections when I was in and out of the hospital because I was on pain medication," he told a music magazine.
"The new songs are a electronic representation of the noises in my mind from that time.
"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences we got up to in the 80s."
The final mixes were finished only days before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for launch in the spring of 2026.
