The talented musician, a key member of the groundbreaking 1980s synth-pop duo Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Alongside vocalist Marc Almond, the team achieved a worldwide hit with their version of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a seminal work of electronic music.
He later founded the innovative techno group The Grid, who achieved popular acclaim with their 1994 single Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully in his rest at his residence in London on Wednesday 22 October, only a short time after performing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in Henley-on-Thames.
Health Struggles
At that show, Ball appeared in a mobility chair, as he had for the last two years, following a spate of ill-health.
"I managed to injure myself significantly," he commented in a recent interview. "I broke spinal bones in my back and fractured about multiple ribs and fractured my arm."
After contracting pneumonia and developing sepsis, he was put in an induced coma and remained in hospital for seven months.
Nevertheless, he had been in "a great place emotionally" over the summer, as he was developing a new album with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is set for release in the coming year.
"He was concentrated and very pleased with the new album that we actually completed only a few days ago," stated the singer in a heartfelt message.
"It's truly heartbreaking as 2026 was completely planned to be such an positive time for him, and I find comfort from the fact that he listened to the finished record and believed that it was a great piece of work."
Tributes
Almond referred to his collaborator as "an exceptionally talented creative mastermind", adding: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our body of work.
"Thank you Dave for being an significant part of my existence and for the music you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without you."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, shared his condolences, recalling Ball's "endless laughter" and "unwavering friendship".
"Forming a duo with someone is distinct from joining a group, the connection is incredibly close," he continued.
"That was the case with us. We went through so many remarkable, extraordinary, memorable moments as a team. Many thanks, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a one-parent family in the city of Chester in 1959, Ball was put up for adoption when he was 18 months of age.
He grew up in the seaside town with adoptive parents his caregivers, who changed his first name from his birth name to his adopted name, alongside his sibling Susan, who was similarly welcomed.
He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in the late 70s, where they were both studying fine arts. Fuelled by a mutual passion of Northern Soul, 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 showman, all sparkle and makeup; but they attained a rare creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with electronic instruments after watching the band Kraftwerk appear on a television program Tomorrow's World, and started to marry moody electronic sounds to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second most popular single of 1981, selling 21 million copies worldwide. Together with hits by other artists, Human League and electronic acts, it helped cleared the way for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.
The song was also featured on their full-length debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which produced 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 the second position in the following year.
Professional Journey
Success had its upsides. "I enjoyed being able to purchase my initial property, having financial security and travelling, which might seem like a beauty queen," Ball not long ago told with a music magazine.
But it also caused challenges. "Sudden riches meant we could afford newfound drugs to relieve the boredom" of press appearances and television shows, Ball said.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a valid cause, because it works for so many bands."
During the party-filled existence, the pair were also drifting apart, but they managed to produce a second memorable record - the unconventional, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released another LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group to concentrate on other projects.
Almond proceeded to have a prosperous solo career, including the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who mixed dance music with melodic sounds over a enduring collaboration.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, producing the charting record Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following a further hiatus, they returned in 2018, issuing the new tracks 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.
However, they stayed together, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.
Ball recently characterized the duo's upcoming release as a homage to the New York club scene they frequented while recording their first two albums.
He noted that his period in medical care had shaped 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 electronic representation of the noises in my mind from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the times we got up to in the 1980s."
The last versions were completed only a short time before Ball died. It is scheduled for release in Spring 2026.
