The talented musician, one half of the groundbreaking 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Together with singer Marc Almond, the pair achieved a global success with their cover of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a seminal work of electronic music.
He later formed the pioneering electronic act The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with their 1994 single the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his rest at his home in London on October 22, only a short time after performing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in the Thames-side town.
Health Struggles
At that performance, Ball appeared in a wheelchair, as he had for the previous couple of years, following a spate of health issues.
"I managed to injure myself significantly," he stated in 2023. "I broke spinal bones in my spine and fractured about five ribs and broke my wrist."
After contracting pneumonia and developing sepsis, he was placed in an medically-induced sleep and stayed in hospital for seven months.
Nevertheless, he had been in "high spirits emotionally" during the summer, as he was developing a new album with Almond, called Danceteria, which is scheduled for release next year.
"He was focused and very pleased with the new album that we literally finished only a short time ago," stated the vocalist in a tribute.
"It's truly heartbreaking as 2026 was completely planned to be such an positive year for him, and I find comfort from the fact that he listened to the completed album and believed that it was a great piece of work."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond referred to his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", stating: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our legacy.
"Thank you Dave for being an immense aspect of my life and for the songs you created with me. I wouldn't be where I am without your influence."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, also paid tribute, remembering Ball's "constant humor" and "steadfast support".
"Being in a duo with someone is different from being in a band, the bond is incredibly close," he continued.
"That was the case with us. We experienced so many extraordinary, extraordinary, memorable experiences together. Many thanks, Dave."
Formative Years
Born into a one-parent family in the city of Chester in 1959, Ball was put up for adoption when he was a year and a half old.
He grew up in the seaside town with his new family Donald and Brenda Ball, who altered his first name from his birth name to David, alongside his younger sister his sister, who was similarly welcomed.
He met Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both learning art. Fuelled by a shared love of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the same year, and promptly recorded an extended play.
Musical Partnership
The duo were an unusual pairing: Ball was the reserved technician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a charismatic showman, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they attained a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had developed a fascination with electronic instruments after watching Kraftwerk perform on a television program a popular series, and started to combine dark electronica to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second biggest-selling song of the early 80s, selling 21 million copies worldwide. Together with hits by other artists, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it helped paved the path for the synth-pop sound of the 80s.
The song 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 continued the record up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at number two in 1982.
Career Highlights
Success had its upsides. "I enjoyed being able to afford my initial property, having financial security and travelling, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball not long ago shared with a music magazine.
But it also caused problems. "Sudden riches meant we could afford substances to alleviate the monotony" of media interviews and TV performances, Ball explained.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a good reason, because it works for so many musicians."
Amidst the party-filled existence, the pair were also drifting apart, but they succeeded to produce a second memorable record - the wayward, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released one more LP, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group to concentrate on individual endeavors.
Almond went on to have a successful individual path, including the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who combined dance music with melodic sounds over a long-lasting collaboration.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, producing the charting record Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following another break, they returned in recent years, releasing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was intended to be a final performance at the large venue on September 30, that year.
Yet, they stayed active, recording their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic restrictions.
Ball lately described the band's upcoming release as a tribute to the New York club scene they frequented while making their initial records.
He noted that his period in medical care had influenced the band's sound.
"I had strange recollections when I was coming and going of hospital because I was on morphine," he explained to a music magazine.
"The new songs are a electronic representation of the noises in my mind from that time.
"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences we got up to in the 80s."
The last versions were completed only a short time before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for release in Spring 2026.
