The talented musician, one half of the groundbreaking 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Together with singer Marc Almond, the team achieved a global success with their version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in 1984, and their debut album their initial full-length release is considered a classic of synth-pop.
He later founded the pioneering electronic act The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with their 1994 single the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully in his sleep at his home in London on Wednesday 22 October, just weeks after performing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in the Thames-side town.
Recent Health Challenges
During that performance, Ball performed in a mobility chair, as he had for the previous couple of years, following a period of ill-health.
"I ended up injure myself quite a bit," he stated in 2023. "I broke spinal bones in my back and cracked about multiple ribs and fractured my arm."
Following contracting pneumonia and developing sepsis, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and stayed in hospital for half a year.
Nevertheless, he had been in "high spirits emotionally" during the warmer months, as he was developing 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 literally completed only a few days ago," said the vocalist in a heartfelt message.
"It's truly heartbreaking as 2026 was completely planned to be such an positive time for him, and I take some solace from the knowledge that he heard the completed album and believed that it was a great piece of work."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond referred to his bandmate as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", adding: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our body of work.
"Thank you Dave for being an significant aspect of my life and for the music 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".
"Forming a duo with someone is different from joining a band, the connection is incredibly close," he continued.
"That was the case with us. We experienced so many remarkable, incredible, memorable moments as a team. Thank you, Dave."
Early Life
Born into a single-parent household in Chester in 1959, 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 altered his first name from his birth name to David, alongside his sibling Susan, who was also adopted.
He encountered Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both learning fine arts. Fuelled by a shared love of Northern Soul, they established Soft Cell the very year, and quickly produced an EP.
Creative Collaboration
The pair were an unusual combination: Ball was the reserved technician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all glitter and eye-liner; but they attained a rare creative synergy.
Ball had developed a fascination with synthesizers after viewing Kraftwerk perform on a television program Tomorrow's World, and started to combine dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling single of 1981, selling 21 million copies worldwide. Together with successful tracks by other artists, Human League and electronic acts, it contributed to cleared the path for the synth-pop sound of the 80s.
The track was also included on their first album, their initial LP, which produced two additional top five 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
Fame had its upsides. "I enjoyed being able to afford my initial property, having money and travelling, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball not long ago told with a publication.
But it also caused challenges. "Newfound wealth meant we could afford newfound drugs to alleviate the monotony" of press appearances and television shows, Ball said.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a valid cause, because it works for so many musicians."
During the party-filled existence, the pair were also growing distant, but they succeeded to produce a follow-up memorable record - the unconventional, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released another album, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the band to focus on individual endeavors.
Almond proceeded to have a prosperous individual path, including the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who mixed acid house with ambient pop over a enduring collaboration.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell came back together in the early 2000s, producing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.
After a further hiatus, they returned in recent years, 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 large venue on 30 September, 2018.
Yet, they stayed active, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic restrictions.
Ball recently characterized the duo's new album as a tribute to the New York club scene they frequented while making their first two albums.
He added that his time in hospital had shaped the group's music.
"I experienced strange recollections when I was coming and going of hospital because I was on pain medication," he explained to a publication.
"The new songs are a electronic representation of the noises in my head from those days.
"In parallel, it's about the experiences me and Marc got up to in the 1980s."
The last versions were finished only a short time before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for launch in Spring 2026.
