The talented musician, one half of the innovative 1980s synth-pop duo Soft Cell, has passed away 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 first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a classic of electronic music.
He later formed the pioneering techno group The Grid, who achieved popular acclaim with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his sleep at his residence in London on Wednesday 22 October, just weeks after playing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in Henley-on-Thames.
Recent Health Challenges
At that show, Ball appeared in a wheelchair, as he had for the last two years, after a period of health issues.
"I ended up damage myself significantly," he commented in a recent interview. "I broke spinal bones in my spine and cracked about multiple ribs and fractured my wrist."
After contracting a lung infection and suffering from blood poisoning, he was placed in an induced coma and stayed in hospital for seven months.
However, he had been in "a great place mentally" over the warmer months, as he was developing a new album with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is set for release next year.
"He was concentrated and so happy with the latest project that we actually completed only a short time ago," said the vocalist in a heartfelt message.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was all set to be such an positive year for him, and I find comfort from the fact that he heard the finished record and felt that it was a masterpiece."
Tributes
Almond described his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant musical genius", stating: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our legacy.
"Many thanks Dave for being an significant aspect of my life and for the music you created with me. I wouldn't be where I am without your influence."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, also paid tribute, recalling Ball's "constant humor" and "steadfast support".
"Being in a duo with someone is different from joining a group, the connection is incredibly close," he continued.
"That was the case with us. We experienced so many extraordinary, extraordinary, life-affirming experiences together. Thank you, Dave."
Formative Years
Born into a single-parent household in Chester in the late 50s, Ball was put up for adoption when he was 18 months old.
He was raised in Blackpool with his new family his caregivers, who changed his given name from Paul to David, alongside his sibling Susan, who was similarly welcomed.
He encountered Almond at an art college in the late 70s, where they were both learning fine arts. Inspired by a mutual passion of Northern Soul, they formed Soft Cell the very year, and promptly recorded an EP.
Creative Collaboration
The duo were an distinctive combination: Ball was the reserved musician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all glitter and makeup; but they attained a unique creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with synthesizers after viewing Kraftwerk perform on a television program a popular series, and began to combine dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second most popular single of the early 80s, shifting millions of units globally. Alongside successful tracks by other artists, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it helped paved the path for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.
The track was also featured on their full-length debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which spawned two additional high-charting hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the record up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which reached at number two in the following year.
Career Highlights
Success had its upsides. "I loved being able to afford my initial property, having money and travelling, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball not long ago shared with a publication.
But it also presented problems. "Sudden riches meant we could afford newfound drugs to relieve the monotony" of press appearances and TV performances, Ball explained.
"I realize that's a common saying, but it's a truism for a good reason, because it works for so many musicians."
During 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 LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group to concentrate on individual endeavors.
Almond proceeded to have a successful individual path, including the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who combined dance music with ambient pop over a long-lasting partnership.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, releasing the charting record Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following another break, they returned in recent years, issuing the original singles 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, that year.
Yet, they stayed active, recording their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.
Ball recently described the band'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 medical care had influenced the group's music.
"I had strange recollections when I was in and out of hospital because I was on pain medication," he explained to a music magazine.
"The new songs are a digital reflection of the sounds in my mind from those days.
"In parallel, it's about the times we had in the 80s."
The last versions were completed only a short time before Ball died. It is scheduled for launch in Spring 2026.
