The talented musician, a key member of the pioneering 1980s synth-pop duo Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the team achieved a global success with their version of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in 1984, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a classic of electronic music.
He later founded the innovative electronic act The Grid, who achieved popular acclaim with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his sleep at his home in London on Wednesday 22 October, only a short time after performing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in Henley-on-Thames.
Recent Health Challenges
At that performance, Ball appeared in a mobility chair, as he had for the previous couple of years, after a spate of health issues.
"I ended up damage myself significantly," he stated in a recent interview. "I broke lower vertebrae in my back and cracked about multiple ribs and broke my arm."
Following contracting a lung infection and developing sepsis, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and remained in the hospital for seven months.
Nevertheless, he had been in "high spirits mentally" during the warmer months, as he worked on a new album with Almond, titled the upcoming Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication next year.
"He was concentrated and very pleased with the latest project that we actually completed only a few days ago," stated the singer in a heartfelt message.
"It's truly heartbreaking as 2026 was all set to be such an positive time 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 bandmate as "an exceptionally talented musical genius", stating: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our legacy.
"Thank you Dave for being an immense part of my existence and for the music you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without you."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, shared his condolences, recalling Ball's "endless laughter" and "unwavering friendship".
"Being in a duo with someone is different from being in a band, the bond is very tight," he continued.
"That was the case with us. We went through so many extraordinary, extraordinary, life-affirming moments together. Thank you, Dave."
Formative Years
Born into a single-parent household in Chester in the late 50s, Ball was put up for adoption when he was a year and a half of age.
He grew up in Blackpool with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who altered his first name from his birth name to David, together with his sibling Susan, who was similarly welcomed.
He met Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both learning art. Inspired by a mutual passion of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and quickly recorded an EP.
Creative Collaboration
The duo were an distinctive pairing: Ball was the quiet technician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant showman, all glitter and makeup; but they attained a rare creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with synthesizers after viewing Kraftwerk appear on BBC program Tomorrow's World, and began to combine moody electronic sounds to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.
Their signature song became the UK's second most popular single of 1981, selling 21 million copies worldwide. Together with successful tracks by Gary Numan, Human League and Ultravox, it helped paved the path for the electronic music style of the 80s.
The song was also included on their first album, their initial LP, which produced two further top five hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the record up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which reached at number two in the following year.
Professional Journey
Success had its benefits. "I loved being able to afford my first home, having money and travelling, which makes me sound like a Miss World," Ball not long ago shared with a music magazine.
But it also presented challenges. "Sudden riches meant we could afford substances to relieve the boredom" of media interviews and television shows, Ball said.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a good reason, because it works for so many bands."
Amidst the party-filled existence, the pair were also growing distant, but they succeeded to create a second classic album - the unconventional, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out one more LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the group to focus on individual endeavors.
Almond went on to have a successful solo career, including the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who mixed dance music with melodic sounds over a long-lasting collaboration.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell came back together in the early 2000s, releasing the charting album Cruelty Without Beauty.
After another break, they reappeared in 2018, releasing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was intended to be a final performance at the large venue on 30 September, 2018.
However, they remained active, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.
Ball lately characterized the band's upcoming release as a tribute to the New York club scene they visited while recording their initial records.
He added that his time in medical care had shaped the band's sound.
"I had strange recollections when I was coming and going of the hospital because I was on morphine," he told a music magazine.
"Our latest tracks are a digital reflection of the sounds in my head from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences we got up to in the 80s."
The final mixes were completed only a short time before Ball died. It is scheduled for launch in the spring of 2026.
