The talented musician, a key member of the groundbreaking 1980s synth-pop band Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the duo scored a global success with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in 1984, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a classic of electronic music.
He subsequently founded the pioneering techno group The Grid, who achieved chart success with 1994's Swamp Thing.
Ball died peacefully in his rest at his residence in London on Wednesday 22 October, just weeks after performing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in Henley-on-Thames.
Health Struggles
At that performance, Ball performed in a wheelchair, as he had for the previous couple of years, after a period of health issues.
"I managed to damage myself significantly," he stated in 2023. "I broke lower vertebrae in my spine and cracked about five ribs and fractured my wrist."
Following contracting a lung infection and suffering from blood poisoning, he was placed in an induced coma and stayed in the hospital for seven months.
However, he had been in "a great place emotionally" during the summer, as he was developing 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 literally completed only a few days ago," said the singer in a tribute.
"It's truly heartbreaking as 2026 was all set to be such an positive year for him, and I find comfort from the fact that he heard the finished record and felt that it was a masterpiece."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond referred to his collaborator as "an exceptionally talented musical genius", adding: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our legacy.
"Many thanks Dave for being an significant part of my life and for the music you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without you."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, also paid tribute, remembering Ball's "endless laughter" and "unwavering friendship".
"Forming a duo with someone is different from joining a group, the bond is incredibly close," he added.
"That's how it was with us. We experienced so many remarkable, incredible, life-affirming moments as a team. Many thanks, Dave."
Formative Years
Born into a single-parent household 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 his caregivers, who altered his given name from his birth name to David, together with his sibling his sister, who was similarly welcomed.
He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in the late 70s, where they were both studying art. Fuelled by a mutual passion of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the same year, and quickly recorded an EP.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an unusual pairing: Ball was the quiet technician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all sparkle and makeup; but they attained a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with synthesizers after watching the band Kraftwerk appear on a television program Tomorrow's World, and began to combine dark electronica to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.
Their signature song became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling single of the early 80s, shifting 21 million copies globally. Alongside successful tracks by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it helped cleared the path for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.
The song was also included 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 separate release, Torch, which peaked at number two in 1982.
Professional Journey
Fame had its benefits. "I enjoyed being able to afford my initial property, having money and exploring, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball not long ago told with a music magazine.
But it also caused challenges. "Newfound wealth meant we could purchase substances to alleviate the boredom" of media interviews and television shows, Ball explained.
"I realize that's a common saying, but it's a truism for a good reason, because it works for so many bands."
Amidst the hedonistic lifestyle, the pair were also growing distant, but they managed to create a second memorable record - the unconventional, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out another LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band to focus on individual endeavors.
Almond went on to have a successful individual path, featuring the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who mixed dance music with ambient pop over a enduring partnership.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, releasing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.
After another break, they returned in recent years, releasing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was supposed to be a farewell show at the large venue on September 30, that year.
However, they stayed together, recording their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.
Ball lately characterized the band's new album as a homage to the New York club scene they frequented while making their initial records.
He noted that his period in hospital had influenced the band's sound.
"I had unusual memories when I was coming and going of hospital because I was on pain medication," he told a music magazine.
"Our latest tracks are a digital reflection of the noises in my head from those days.
"In parallel, it's about the times we got up to in the 80s."
The final mixes were completed only days before Ball died. It is scheduled for launch in the spring of 2026.
