The talented musician, a key member of the pioneering 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Together with vocalist Marc Almond, the team scored a global success with their cover of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a classic of synth-pop.
He later founded the pioneering electronic act The Grid, who achieved chart success with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his rest at his home in London on Wednesday 22 October, only a short time after playing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in Henley-on-Thames.
Recent Health Challenges
At that show, Ball performed in a wheelchair, as he had for the previous couple of years, following a period of ill-health.
"I ended up damage myself quite a bit," he commented in 2023. "I fractured spinal bones in my spine and cracked about multiple ribs and broke my wrist."
Following contracting a lung infection and developing blood poisoning, he was placed in an induced coma and remained in the hospital for half a year.
However, he had been in "high spirits emotionally" over the summer, as he was developing a fresh record with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is scheduled for release next year.
"He was concentrated and very pleased with the new album that we literally finished only a few days 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 knowledge that he listened to the completed album and believed that it was a masterpiece."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond described his bandmate as "an exceptionally talented creative mastermind", stating: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our body of work.
"Many thanks Dave for being an significant part of my existence and for the songs you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without your influence."
Richard Norris from The Grid, shared his condolences, remembering Ball's "constant humor" and "unwavering friendship".
"Forming a partnership with someone is different from joining a group, the connection is very tight," he added.
"That was the case with us. We experienced so many extraordinary, incredible, life-affirming experiences together. Thank you, Dave."
Formative Years
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 a year and a half of age.
He was raised in the seaside town with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who altered his given name from Paul to David, together with his younger sister Susan, who was similarly welcomed.
He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both studying art. Inspired by a shared love of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the very year, and promptly recorded an extended play.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an unusual combination: Ball was the reserved technician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all glitter and eye-liner; but they achieved a unique creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with synthesizers after watching the band Kraftwerk appear on a television program Tomorrow's World, and began to combine dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling single of 1981, shifting millions of units worldwide. Alongside successful tracks by Gary Numan, Human League and Ultravox, it contributed to paved the way for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The track was also included on their full-length debut, their initial LP, which spawned two further high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the record up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which peaked at number two in the following year.
Professional Journey
Fame had its upsides. "I enjoyed being able to purchase my initial property, having money and travelling, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball recently shared with a music magazine.
But it also presented problems. "Sudden riches allowed we could afford newfound drugs to relieve the boredom" of press appearances and television shows, Ball said.
"I realize that's a common saying, but it's a truism for a good reason, because it applies for so many musicians."
Amidst the hedonistic lifestyle, the pair were also growing distant, but they managed to produce a follow-up memorable record - the wayward, edgy and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released another LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group to focus 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 combined acid house with melodic sounds over a enduring partnership.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell reunited in 2001, releasing 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 staging what was supposed to be a final performance at the O2 Arena on September 30, 2018.
However, they stayed active, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic restrictions.
Ball recently described the duo's new album as a tribute to the New York club scene they visited while recording their initial records.
He added that his time in hospital had influenced the band's sound.
"I experienced unusual memories when I was in and out of hospital because I was on pain medication," he told a music magazine.
"The new songs are a electronic representation of the sounds in my mind from those days.
"In parallel, it's about the experiences we got up to in the 1980s."
The last versions were finished only a short time before Ball passed away. It is due for launch in Spring 2026.
