The talented musician, a key member of the pioneering 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the pair achieved a worldwide hit with their version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in 1984, and their first record their initial full-length release is considered a classic of electronic music.
He later founded the pioneering techno group The Grid, who achieved chart success with their 1994 single Swamp Thing.
Ball died 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 Henley-on-Thames.
Health Struggles
During that show, Ball appeared in a wheelchair, as he had for the last two years, following a spate of health issues.
"I managed to injure myself significantly," he stated in 2023. "I broke spinal bones in my spine and cracked about five ribs and fractured my arm."
After catching pneumonia and suffering from sepsis, he was placed in an medically-induced sleep and stayed in the hospital for half a year.
Nevertheless, he had been in "a great place emotionally" over the summer, as he worked on a new album with Almond, titled the upcoming Danceteria, which is set for publication next year.
"He was concentrated and so happy with the new album that we actually completed only a short time ago," said the vocalist in a tribute.
"It's truly heartbreaking as 2026 was completely planned to be such an uplifting time for him, and I find comfort from the fact that he heard the completed album and believed that it was a masterpiece."
Tributes
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 aspect of my existence and for the music you gave me. I wouldn't be where I am without you."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, also paid tribute, recalling Ball's "constant humor" and "steadfast support".
"Forming a partnership with someone is distinct from being in a band, the connection is incredibly close," he added.
"That was the case with us. We experienced so many remarkable, incredible, life-affirming experiences together. Thank you, Dave."
Formative Years
Brought into the world into a one-parent family in Chester in the late 50s, Ball was put up for adoption when he was 18 months of age.
He grew up in the seaside town with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who altered his given name from his birth name to his adopted name, alongside his sibling Susan, who was also adopted.
He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in the late 70s, where they were both studying art. Inspired by a mutual passion of Northern Soul, they established Soft Cell the same year, and quickly produced an extended play.
Musical Partnership
The duo were an distinctive combination: Ball was the reserved technician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all glitter and eye-liner; but they achieved a rare musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with synthesizers after viewing the band Kraftwerk appear on BBC science show a popular series, and started to combine dark electronica to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.
Their signature song became the UK's second most popular song of 1981, shifting 21 million units globally. Together with hits by other artists, Human League and electronic acts, it helped paved the way for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.
The track was also featured on their full-length debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which spawned two further high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the album up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which reached at the second position in 1982.
Career Highlights
Success had its benefits. "I loved being able to purchase my first home, having financial security and travelling, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball not long ago told with a music magazine.
But it also presented challenges. "Sudden riches meant we could afford substances to relieve the monotony" of press appearances and television shows, Ball said.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a valid cause, because it applies for so many musicians."
During the party-filled existence, the duo were also growing distant, but they managed to produce a follow-up memorable record - the wayward, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out another LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group to focus on other projects.
Almond proceeded to have a successful individual path, including the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who mixed dance music with ambient pop over a long-lasting partnership.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell reunited in 2001, producing the charting album Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following a further break, they returned in recent years, releasing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was intended to be a final performance at the O2 Arena on 30 September, 2018.
However, they stayed together, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.
Ball lately described the duo's upcoming release as a homage to the New York club scene they visited while making their initial records.
He added that his period in hospital had influenced the group's music.
"I experienced strange recollections when I was in and out of hospital because I was on pain medication," he told a publication.
"The new songs are a digital reflection of the sounds in my mind from that time.
"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences me and Marc had in the 80s."
The last versions were completed only a short time before Ball died. It is scheduled for launch in the spring of 2026.
