The talented musician, one half of the innovative 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the pair scored a global success with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a classic of electronic music.
He later founded the innovative techno group The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with their 1994 single Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully in his rest at his residence in London on Wednesday 22 October, just weeks after performing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in the Thames-side town.
Health Struggles
During that performance, Ball performed in a wheelchair, as he had for the last two years, following a period of ill-health.
"I ended up damage myself quite a bit," he commented in 2023. "I broke lower vertebrae in my spine and fractured about multiple ribs and broke my arm."
After catching pneumonia and developing sepsis, he was placed in an induced coma and remained in the hospital for half a year.
However, he had been in "a great place mentally" during the warmer months, as he was developing a fresh record with Almond, called the upcoming Danceteria, which is scheduled for release in the coming year.
"He was concentrated and very pleased with the new album that we actually finished only a few days ago," said the singer in a tribute.
"It's so sad as 2026 was all set to be such an uplifting time for him, and I find comfort from the fact that he listened to the completed album and felt that it was a masterpiece."
Tributes
Almond described his collaborator as "an exceptionally talented creative mastermind", stating: "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 existence and for the songs you gave me. I wouldn't be where I am without you."
Richard Norris from The Grid, shared his condolences, remembering Ball's "constant humor" and "unwavering friendship".
"Forming a duo with someone is different from joining a band, the connection is incredibly close," he added.
"That's how it was with us. We experienced so many extraordinary, extraordinary, memorable moments as a team. Thank you, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a one-parent family in Chester in the late 50s, Ball was given up for adoption when he was a year and a half old.
He grew up in the seaside town with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his given name from his birth name to David, alongside his younger sister Susan, who was also adopted.
He encountered Almond at an art college in the late 70s, where they were both learning fine arts. Inspired by a mutual passion of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the very year, and quickly produced an extended play.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an unusual combination: Ball was the quiet technician, hunched over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic showman, all glitter and makeup; but they attained a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with synthesizers after watching the band Kraftwerk perform on a television program Tomorrow's World, and started to marry dark electronica to the catchy tunes Almond was composing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second most popular single of 1981, selling millions of copies worldwide. Together with hits by other artists, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it contributed to cleared the way for the electronic music style of the 80s.
The track was also included on their full-length debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which produced two additional top five hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the album up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which peaked at number two in 1982.
Career Highlights
Success had its upsides. "I enjoyed being able to afford my first home, having money and travelling, which makes me sound like a Miss World," Ball not long ago shared with a music magazine.
But it also caused problems. "Sudden riches allowed we could afford substances to alleviate the boredom" of media interviews and television shows, Ball explained.
"I know that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a good reason, because it works for so many bands."
Amidst the party-filled existence, the pair were also growing distant, but they managed to produce a follow-up memorable record - the wayward, edgy 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 acid house with ambient pop over a enduring collaboration.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell came back together in 2001, releasing the charting album Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following another hiatus, they returned in 2018, issuing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was supposed to be a final performance at the O2 Arena on September 30, 2018.
However, they stayed active, recording their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic restrictions.
Ball recently described the band's new album as a tribute to the NYC nightlife they frequented while recording their first two albums.
He added that his time in medical care had influenced the group's music.
"I had unusual memories when I was in and out of the hospital because I was on pain medication," he told a music magazine.
"The new songs are a digital reflection of the noises in my mind from those days.
"In parallel, it's about the times me and Marc had in the 80s."
The last versions were completed only days before Ball died. It is scheduled for release in the spring of 2026.
