The talented musician, a key member of the pioneering 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the duo scored a worldwide hit with their version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record their initial full-length release is regarded as a seminal work of electronic music.
He subsequently founded the pioneering electronic act The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully in his rest at his home in London on October 22, just weeks after playing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in the Thames-side town.
Recent Health Challenges
During that performance, Ball performed in a wheelchair, as he had for the previous couple of years, after a spate of ill-health.
"I ended up injure myself significantly," he commented in 2023. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my spine and cracked about five ribs and fractured my wrist."
After catching a lung infection and developing blood poisoning, he was placed in an induced coma and stayed in hospital for seven months.
However, he had been in "a great place emotionally" over the warmer months, as he worked on 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 literally finished only a short time ago," stated the singer in a heartfelt message.
"It's truly heartbreaking as 2026 was completely planned to be such an uplifting time for him, and I take some solace from the knowledge that he listened to the finished record and felt that it was a great piece of work."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond described his collaborator as "an exceptionally talented creative mastermind", stating: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our body of work.
"Thank you Dave for being an immense part of my existence and for the music you gave 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 "unwavering friendship".
"Forming a duo with someone is distinct from being in a group, the connection is very tight," he continued.
"That was the case with us. We experienced so many remarkable, incredible, memorable moments as a team. Thank you, Dave."
Early Life
Born into a one-parent family in the city of Chester in 1959, Ball was put up for adoption when he was a year and a half old.
He was raised in Blackpool with his new family his caregivers, who changed his given name from his birth name to his adopted name, together with his younger sister Susan, who was similarly welcomed.
He met Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both studying art. Fuelled by a mutual passion of Northern Soul, they formed Soft Cell the very year, and promptly produced an extended play.
Creative Collaboration
The pair were an unusual pairing: Ball was the reserved technician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant showman, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they attained a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had developed a interest with electronic instruments after watching Kraftwerk appear 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 most popular song of 1981, selling millions of units worldwide. Together with hits by other artists, Human League and electronic acts, it contributed to cleared the way for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The track 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 number two in the following year.
Professional Journey
Fame had its benefits. "I enjoyed being able to purchase my initial property, having financial security and travelling, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball not long ago shared with a music magazine.
But it also presented problems. "Sudden riches meant we could afford substances to alleviate the monotony" of press appearances and TV performances, Ball said.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a good reason, because it applies for so many bands."
During the party-filled existence, the duo were also growing distant, but they managed to produce a second memorable record - the unconventional, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released another LP, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the band to concentrate on individual endeavors.
Almond went on to have a prosperous individual path, featuring 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 long-lasting collaboration.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell reunited in 2001, producing the charting album Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following a further hiatus, they returned in recent years, releasing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was intended to be a final performance at the large venue on September 30, 2018.
Yet, they stayed active, recording their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.
Ball recently characterized the band's upcoming release as a homage to the New York club scene they frequented while recording their initial records.
He noted that his period in hospital 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 publication.
"The new songs are a digital reflection of the sounds in my mind from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences we got up to in the 1980s."
The final mixes were completed only days before Ball died. It is scheduled for launch in the spring of 2026.
