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 scored a worldwide hit with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a classic of synth-pop.
He subsequently formed the pioneering electronic act The Grid, who achieved chart success with 1994's 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 the Thames-side town.
Recent Health Challenges
During that show, Ball performed in a mobility chair, as he had for the last two years, following a period of health issues.
"I ended up injure myself significantly," he commented in 2023. "I fractured spinal bones in my back and cracked about multiple ribs and broke my arm."
After contracting a lung infection and developing blood poisoning, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and stayed in the hospital for half a year.
However, he had been in "high spirits emotionally" over the summer, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, called Danceteria, which is set for release in the coming year.
"He was concentrated and very pleased with the new album that we literally completed only a short time ago," said the singer in a tribute.
"It's so sad as 2026 was completely planned to be such an positive time for him, and I take some solace from the fact that he heard the finished record and felt that it was a masterpiece."
Tributes
Almond referred to his bandmate as "an exceptionally talented musical genius", stating: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our legacy.
"Many thanks Dave for being an immense aspect of my existence and for the music you gave me. I couldn't be where I am without you."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, also paid tribute, remembering Ball's "constant humor" and "steadfast support".
"Forming a duo with someone is different from being in a group, the connection is very tight," he added.
"That's how it was with us. We experienced so many extraordinary, extraordinary, life-affirming moments together. Many thanks, Dave."
Early Life
Born into a single-parent household in Chester in 1959, Ball was given up for adoption when he was a year and a half old.
He grew up in Blackpool with adoptive parents his caregivers, who changed his given name from his birth name to his adopted name, together with his sibling Susan, who was similarly welcomed.
He met Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both learning art. Fuelled by a mutual passion of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the very year, and quickly recorded an extended play.
Musical Partnership
The duo were an distinctive pairing: Ball was the quiet technician, hunched over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all sparkle and makeup; but they attained a rare creative synergy.
Ball had developed a fascination with synthesizers after watching Kraftwerk perform on a television science show Tomorrow's World, and began to combine dark electronica to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second biggest-selling song of 1981, selling millions of units globally. Together with hits by other artists, Human League and electronic acts, it helped cleared the path for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The track was also featured on their full-length debut, their initial LP, which spawned two further top five hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the album up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which reached 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 beauty queen," Ball recently told with a publication.
But it also presented problems. "Newfound wealth allowed we could afford newfound drugs to alleviate the monotony" of media interviews and TV performances, Ball explained.
"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 managed to create a second memorable record - the wayward, edgy and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released another LP, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the group to concentrate on individual endeavors.
Almond proceeded to have a prosperous solo career, including the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who mixed acid house with ambient pop over a enduring partnership.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell came back together in 2001, producing the charting album Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following another hiatus, they returned in 2018, releasing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was supposed to be a final performance at the O2 Arena on September 30, 2018.
Yet, they remained active, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.
Ball lately characterized the duo's new album as a tribute to the New York club scene they frequented while making their first two albums.
He added that his period in medical care had shaped the band's sound.
"I had strange recollections when I was in and out of hospital because I was on morphine," he told a music magazine.
"The new songs are a digital reflection of the sounds in my mind from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the times me and Marc got up to in the 1980s."
The final mixes were completed only a short time before Ball passed away. It is due for release in the spring of 2026.
