The talented musician, a key member of the pioneering 1980s synth-pop duo Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Together with vocalist Marc Almond, the duo achieved a global success with their version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in 1984, and their first record their initial full-length release is regarded as a classic of electronic music.
He later founded the innovative techno group The Grid, who secured chart success with their 1994 single the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his sleep at his residence in London on October 22, just weeks after playing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in the Thames-side town.
Recent Health Challenges
During that performance, Ball appeared in a wheelchair, as he had for the previous couple of years, after a spate of health issues.
"I managed to injure myself quite a bit," he commented in a recent interview. "I broke lower vertebrae in my back and cracked about five ribs and fractured my wrist."
After contracting a lung infection and developing blood poisoning, he was placed in an medically-induced sleep and remained in the hospital for half a year.
However, he had been in "a great place emotionally" during the summer, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, called the upcoming Danceteria, which is set for release in the coming year.
"He was concentrated and so happy with the latest project that we actually completed only a few days ago," said the singer in a heartfelt message.
"It's so sad as 2026 was completely planned to be such an positive year for him, and I take some solace from the knowledge that he listened to the finished record and believed that it was a masterpiece."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond referred to his bandmate as "an exceptionally talented creative mastermind", adding: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our body of work.
"Thank you Dave for being an immense aspect of my life and for the music you created with me. I wouldn't be where I am without you."
Richard Norris from The Grid, shared his condolences, remembering Ball's "constant humor" and "unwavering friendship".
"Forming a partnership with someone is distinct from joining a band, the bond is very tight," he continued.
"That was the case with us. We went through so many remarkable, extraordinary, memorable moments as a team. Thank you, Dave."
Early Life
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 the seaside town with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his first name from his birth name to his adopted name, alongside his sibling his sister, who was also adopted.
He encountered Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both studying art. Inspired by a mutual passion of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and quickly recorded an EP.
Musical Partnership
The duo were an unusual pairing: Ball was the quiet musician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all sparkle and makeup; but they attained a rare musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with synthesizers after watching the band Kraftwerk appear on a television program a popular series, and began to combine dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second most popular single of the early 80s, shifting 21 million copies globally. Together with successful tracks by Gary Numan, Human League and Ultravox, it helped cleared the way for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.
The song was also included on their full-length debut, their initial LP, which spawned two further top five hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the album up with the separate release, Torch, which peaked at the second position in 1982.
Professional Journey
Fame had its benefits. "I loved being able to purchase my initial property, having financial security and travelling, which makes me sound like a Miss World," Ball recently shared with a music magazine.
But it also caused challenges. "Sudden riches meant we could purchase newfound drugs to alleviate 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 bands."
Amidst the hedonistic lifestyle, the duo were also growing distant, but they managed to produce a follow-up memorable record - the unconventional, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out one more LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the group to concentrate on individual endeavors.
Almond proceeded to have a successful solo career, featuring the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who combined dance music with ambient pop over a long-lasting collaboration.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell reunited in 2001, releasing the Top 40 album Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following a further break, they reappeared in 2018, issuing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was supposed to be a farewell show at the O2 Arena on 30 September, that year.
However, they remained together, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.
Ball recently described the band's new album as a tribute to the New York club scene they visited while recording their first two albums.
He added that his period in medical care had shaped the band's sound.
"I had unusual memories when I was coming and going of the hospital because I was on morphine," he told a music magazine.
"The new songs are a electronic representation of the noises in my head from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the times me and Marc got up to in the 80s."
The last versions were finished only days before Ball died. It is due for release in the spring of 2026.
