The talented musician, one half of the pioneering 1980s synth-pop duo Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Alongside vocalist Marc Almond, the pair achieved a global success with their version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a classic of electronic music.
He subsequently formed the innovative techno group The Grid, who achieved popular acclaim with 1994's Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his rest at his home in London on Wednesday 22 October, just weeks after playing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in the Thames-side town.
Health Struggles
At that show, Ball appeared in a wheelchair, as he had for the last two years, after a spate of ill-health.
"I ended up damage myself significantly," he stated in 2023. "I fractured spinal bones in my spine and fractured about multiple ribs and broke my arm."
After contracting a lung infection and suffering from blood poisoning, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and remained in the hospital for half a year.
However, he had been in "high spirits emotionally" over the warmer months, as he worked on a new album with Almond, called Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication next year.
"He was concentrated and so happy with the latest project that we literally completed only a short time ago," stated the singer in a tribute.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was all set to be such an uplifting year for him, and I take some solace from the fact that he heard the completed album and felt that it was a masterpiece."
Tributes
Almond referred to his collaborator as "an exceptionally talented 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 part of my existence and for the music you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without your influence."
Richard Norris from The Grid, also paid tribute, recalling Ball's "endless laughter" and "unwavering friendship".
"Forming a partnership with someone is distinct from being in a band, the connection is very tight," he added.
"That's how it was with us. We experienced so many remarkable, extraordinary, life-affirming moments as a team. Thank you, Dave."
Formative Years
Born into a one-parent family in the city of Chester in the late 50s, Ball was put up for adoption when he was a year and a half old.
He grew up in the seaside town with adoptive parents his caregivers, who changed his first name from Paul to David, together with his sibling Susan, who was similarly welcomed.
He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in the late 70s, where they were both learning fine arts. Inspired by a shared love of Northern Soul, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and promptly produced an EP.
Creative Collaboration
The pair were an unusual combination: Ball was the reserved technician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all glitter and eye-liner; but they achieved a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with electronic instruments after watching the band Kraftwerk appear on BBC science show a popular series, and began to marry dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second most popular single of 1981, shifting 21 million copies globally. Alongside successful tracks by other artists, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it helped cleared the path for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The song was also featured on their full-length debut, their initial LP, which spawned two additional high-charting hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the album up with the separate release, Torch, which peaked at number two in 1982.
Professional Journey
Success had its upsides. "I enjoyed being able to afford my first home, having money and travelling, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball recently told with a publication.
But it also caused problems. "Sudden riches meant we could purchase newfound drugs to relieve the monotony" of press appearances and TV performances, Ball said.
"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 duo were also drifting apart, but they managed to produce a follow-up classic album - the unconventional, edgy and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released another album, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the band to focus on other projects.
Almond went on 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 combined acid house with ambient pop over a long-lasting partnership.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell reunited in 2001, producing the charting album Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following a further break, they returned in 2018, releasing 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, 2018.
However, they remained active, recording their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.
Ball lately characterized the band's new album as a homage to the NYC nightlife they frequented while recording their initial records.
He added that his period in medical care had influenced the band's sound.
"I experienced strange recollections when I was in and out of the hospital because I was on morphine," he explained to a publication.
"The new songs are a digital reflection of the noises in my mind from that time.
"In parallel, it's about the times me and Marc got up to in the 80s."
The final mixes were finished only days before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for launch in the spring of 2026.
