The talented musician, one half of the innovative 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Together with singer Marc Almond, the duo 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 classic of synth-pop.
He subsequently formed the innovative electronic act The Grid, who achieved chart success with their 1994 single Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his sleep at his home in London on Wednesday 22 October, only a short time after performing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in the Thames-side town.
Health Struggles
At that performance, Ball performed in a wheelchair, as he had for the previous couple of years, following a spate of ill-health.
"I managed to damage myself quite a bit," he commented in 2023. "I broke lower vertebrae in my spine and fractured about multiple ribs and broke my wrist."
After catching a lung infection and developing sepsis, he was put in an induced coma and stayed in the hospital for half a year.
Nevertheless, he had been in "a great place emotionally" over the warmer months, as he was developing a new album with Almond, called Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication in the coming year.
"He was focused and so happy with the latest project that we literally finished only a short time ago," said the singer in a heartfelt message.
"It's truly heartbreaking 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 completed album and felt that it was a masterpiece."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond described his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", stating: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our body of work.
"Thank you Dave for being an immense part 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, also paid tribute, recalling Ball's "constant humor" and "steadfast support".
"Forming 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 extraordinary, incredible, memorable experiences as a team. Thank you, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a one-parent family in Chester in 1959, Ball was put up for adoption when he was a year and a half old.
He was raised in the seaside town with adoptive parents his caregivers, who altered his first name from his birth name to David, together with his younger sister Susan, who was similarly welcomed.
He met Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both learning art. Fuelled by a mutual passion of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the same year, and promptly recorded an EP.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an unusual combination: Ball was the quiet musician, hunched over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all glitter and makeup; but they achieved a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with electronic instruments after watching the band Kraftwerk appear on a television science show Tomorrow's World, and began to marry moody electronic sounds to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.
Their signature song became the UK's second most popular song of 1981, selling 21 million units globally. Together with successful tracks by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it contributed to cleared the way for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.
The song was also featured on their first album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which produced two additional top five hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the record up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which reached at the second position in 1982.
Career Highlights
Success had its upsides. "I enjoyed being able to afford my initial property, having money and travelling, which makes me sound like a Miss World," Ball recently shared with a publication.
But it also caused challenges. "Sudden riches allowed we could afford substances to alleviate the boredom" of press appearances and TV performances, Ball said.
"I realize that's a common saying, but it's a cliché for a good reason, because it works for so many musicians."
Amidst the hedonistic lifestyle, the duo were also growing distant, but they managed to create a follow-up classic album - the unconventional, edgy and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out another LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band to concentrate on other projects.
Almond proceeded to have a prosperous solo career, featuring the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who combined dance music with ambient pop over a enduring collaboration.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell reunited in 2001, producing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.
After another break, they returned in 2018, 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 O2 Arena on 30 September, 2018.
However, they remained together, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.
Ball recently described the band's new album as a tribute to the NYC nightlife they frequented while making their first two albums.
He noted that his time in medical care had shaped the band's sound.
"I experienced unusual memories when I was coming and going of hospital because I was on pain medication," he explained to a music magazine.
"Our latest tracks are a electronic representation of the sounds in my head from those days.
"In parallel, it's about the times me and Marc had in the 1980s."
The last versions were completed only days before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for launch in the spring of 2026.
