The talented musician, a key member of the innovative 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the team achieved a worldwide hit with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in 1984, and their debut album their initial full-length release is considered a classic of electronic music.
He subsequently formed the innovative techno group The Grid, who achieved chart success with their 1994 single Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his rest at his residence in London on Wednesday 22 October, just weeks after playing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in the Thames-side town.
Health Struggles
During that show, Ball appeared in a mobility chair, as he had for the last two years, following a period of health issues.
"I managed to damage myself quite a bit," he commented in 2023. "I fractured spinal bones in my back and fractured about five ribs and fractured my wrist."
Following contracting pneumonia and developing blood poisoning, he was placed in an induced coma and stayed in hospital for half a year.
However, he had been in "high spirits mentally" during the summer, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, titled the upcoming Danceteria, which is scheduled for release in the coming year.
"He was focused and so happy with the latest project that we literally completed only a few days ago," said the vocalist in a tribute.
"It's so sad as 2026 was all set to be such an uplifting time for him, and I take some solace from the knowledge that he heard the finished record and felt that it was a masterpiece."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond described his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", adding: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our body of work.
"Thank you Dave for being an significant part of my life and for the music you gave me. I couldn't be where I am without you."
Richard Norris from The Grid, shared his condolences, recalling Ball's "endless laughter" and "unwavering friendship".
"Forming a duo with someone is distinct from joining a group, the bond is incredibly close," he added.
"That was the case with us. We went through so many remarkable, incredible, memorable moments as a team. Thank you, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a single-parent household in Chester in 1959, Ball was put up for adoption when he was 18 months of age.
He was raised in the seaside town with his new family Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his given name from Paul to David, alongside his sibling Susan, who was similarly welcomed.
He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both learning art. Inspired by a shared love of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the same year, and promptly produced an extended play.
Creative Collaboration
The pair were an unusual pairing: Ball was the quiet technician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic showman, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they attained a unique creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with synthesizers after viewing the band Kraftwerk appear on a television program Tomorrow's World, and began to combine dark electronica to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling single of 1981, selling millions of units worldwide. Together with successful tracks by other artists, Human League and electronic acts, it contributed to cleared the way for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The song was also featured on their full-length debut, their initial LP, which produced two additional high-charting hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the record up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which reached at number two in 1982.
Career Highlights
Fame had its upsides. "I loved being able to purchase my initial property, having financial security and travelling, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball recently shared with a music magazine.
But it also presented problems. "Sudden riches allowed we could purchase substances to relieve the monotony" of media interviews and television shows, Ball said.
"I know that's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a good reason, because it applies for so many musicians."
During the party-filled existence, the pair were also drifting apart, but they succeeded to produce a follow-up classic album - the wayward, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out another album, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the group to concentrate on individual endeavors.
Almond proceeded to have a prosperous 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 ambient pop over a enduring partnership.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, producing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.
After a further hiatus, they reappeared in recent years, releasing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was intended to be a farewell show at the large venue on 30 September, that year.
However, they remained active, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic restrictions.
Ball recently characterized the band's upcoming release as a tribute to the New York club scene they frequented while recording their initial records.
He added that his time in hospital had influenced the group's music.
"I experienced strange recollections when I was coming and going of hospital because I was on pain medication," he told a publication.
"The new songs are a electronic representation of the sounds in my head from those days.
"In parallel, it's about the times we had in the 80s."
The final mixes were finished only a short time before Ball died. It is scheduled for release in Spring 2026.
