The talented musician, one half of the pioneering 1980s synth-pop band Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Together with vocalist Marc Almond, the team achieved a global success with their version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in 1984, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a seminal work of electronic music.
He subsequently founded the innovative techno group The Grid, who secured chart success with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball died peacefully in his sleep at his home in London on October 22, only a short time 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 mobility chair, as he had for the previous couple of years, following a spate of ill-health.
"I managed to injure myself significantly," he stated in a recent interview. "I broke spinal bones in my spine and cracked about five ribs and fractured my wrist."
Following contracting pneumonia and developing blood poisoning, he was put in an induced coma and stayed in hospital for seven months.
However, he had been in "a great place mentally" during the warmer months, as he worked on a new album with Almond, titled the upcoming Danceteria, which is set for release in the coming year.
"He was focused and so happy with the latest project that we actually completed only a short time ago," stated the singer in a heartfelt message.
"It's so sad as 2026 was completely planned to be such an uplifting year for him, and I take some solace from the fact that he listened to the finished record and believed that it was a great piece of work."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond described his bandmate as "a wonderfully brilliant musical genius", adding: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our body of work.
"Many thanks Dave for being an immense aspect of my life and for the music you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without your influence."
Richard Norris from The Grid, shared his condolences, recalling Ball's "endless laughter" and "steadfast support".
"Being in a partnership with someone is different from being in a band, the connection is incredibly close," he added.
"That was the case with us. We went through so many extraordinary, incredible, life-affirming experiences as a team. Thank you, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a single-parent household in the city of 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 his new family Donald and Brenda Ball, who altered his first name from his birth name to his adopted name, together with his sibling Susan, who was also adopted.
He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in the late 70s, where they were both studying fine arts. Inspired by a mutual passion of Northern Soul, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and promptly produced an EP.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an distinctive combination: Ball was the reserved technician, hunched over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant showman, all glitter and eye-liner; but they attained a rare creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with synthesizers after viewing Kraftwerk appear on a television science show a popular series, and began to marry dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.
Their signature song became the UK's second biggest-selling single of the early 80s, selling millions of copies globally. Alongside successful tracks by other artists, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it contributed to paved the path for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The track was also featured on their full-length debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which spawned two additional top five hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the album up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which reached at number two in the following year.
Professional Journey
Success had its upsides. "I enjoyed being able to afford my first home, having money and travelling, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball not long ago told with a music magazine.
But it also caused problems. "Sudden riches allowed we could afford newfound drugs to alleviate the boredom" of media interviews and TV performances, 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 party-filled existence, the duo were also growing distant, but they managed to produce a follow-up classic album - the unconventional, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released another album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band to focus on other projects.
Almond went on to have a successful individual path, featuring the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who combined dance music with melodic sounds over a enduring collaboration.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell came back together in 2001, producing the charting album Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following another break, they reappeared in 2018, issuing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was intended to be a final performance at the O2 Arena on September 30, 2018.
However, they stayed together, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic restrictions.
Ball lately described the duo's new album as a homage to the NYC nightlife they frequented while recording their initial records.
He added that his period in medical care had influenced the group's music.
"I had strange recollections when I was in and out of hospital because I was on morphine," he explained to a music magazine.
"The new songs are a digital reflection of the noises in my mind 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 passed away. It is scheduled for launch in Spring 2026.
