The talented musician, a key member of the innovative 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Together with singer Marc Almond, the pair scored a worldwide hit with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a seminal work of electronic music.
He subsequently formed the innovative electronic act The Grid, who achieved chart success with 1994's Swamp Thing.
Ball died peacefully in his rest at his residence in London on October 22, only a short time after playing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in the Thames-side town.
Health Struggles
At that performance, Ball performed in a mobility chair, as he had for the last two years, following a period of ill-health.
"I managed to injure myself significantly," he stated in a recent interview. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my back and fractured about multiple ribs and fractured my arm."
After catching a lung infection and developing blood poisoning, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and remained in hospital for half a year.
However, he had been in "high spirits emotionally" during the warmer months, as he was developing a new album with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is scheduled for release in the coming year.
"He was concentrated and so happy with the new album that we actually finished only a few days ago," stated the singer in a heartfelt message.
"It's so sad as 2026 was all set to be such an uplifting time for him, and I take some solace from the fact that he listened to the finished record and felt that it was a great piece of work."
Tributes
Almond referred to his collaborator 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 significant part of my life and for the songs you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without you."
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's how it was with us. We experienced so many remarkable, incredible, life-affirming experiences together. Thank you, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a single-parent household in Chester in the late 50s, Ball was put up for adoption when he was 18 months old.
He grew up in Blackpool with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who altered his first name from his birth name to David, alongside his sibling his sister, who was similarly welcomed.
He met Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both learning fine arts. Inspired by a shared love of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the very year, and quickly recorded an EP.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an unusual pairing: Ball was the quiet musician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all glitter and makeup; but they achieved a rare musical alchemy.
Ball had developed a fascination with electronic instruments after viewing Kraftwerk appear on a television science show Tomorrow's World, and began to combine moody electronic sounds to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.
Their signature song became the United Kingdom's second most popular single of 1981, selling millions of units globally. Alongside hits by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it helped cleared the way for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The song was also featured on their full-length debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which produced two further high-charting hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the record up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at the second position in 1982.
Career Highlights
Success had its benefits. "I loved being able to purchase my initial property, having money and exploring, which might seem like a beauty queen," Ball recently shared with a music magazine.
But it also caused challenges. "Sudden riches meant we could purchase substances to relieve the boredom" of press appearances and TV performances, Ball explained.
"I know that's a common saying, 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 create a follow-up classic album - the wayward, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out one more album, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the group to focus on individual endeavors.
Almond proceeded to have a successful individual path, featuring the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who combined dance music with melodic sounds over a enduring partnership.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, releasing the Top 40 album Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following a further hiatus, they returned in recent years, issuing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was intended to be a farewell show at the large venue on 30 September, that year.
Yet, they stayed together, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.
Ball lately described the duo's new album as a homage to the New York club scene they frequented while recording their initial records.
He noted that his time in medical care had influenced 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.
"Our latest tracks are a electronic representation of the noises in my head from that time.
"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences me and Marc got up to in the 1980s."
The final mixes were finished only a short time before Ball died. It is due for release in Spring 2026.
