The talented musician, one half of the pioneering 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the team achieved a global success with their cover of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in 1984, and their first record their initial full-length release is considered a classic of synth-pop.
He later founded the innovative electronic act The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with their 1994 single Swamp Thing.
Ball died 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 music event in the Thames-side town.
Recent Health Challenges
During that performance, Ball performed in a mobility chair, as he had for the last two years, after a period of ill-health.
"I ended up injure myself significantly," he stated in 2023. "I broke lower vertebrae in my spine and cracked about five ribs and fractured my arm."
After catching pneumonia and suffering from blood poisoning, he was put in an induced coma and stayed in the hospital for seven months.
Nevertheless, he had been in "high spirits mentally" over the summer, as he was developing a new album with Almond, called Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication in the coming year.
"He was concentrated and so happy with the latest project that we literally finished only a short time ago," said the vocalist in a heartfelt message.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was completely planned to be such an uplifting year for him, and I find comfort from the knowledge that he heard the finished record and believed that it was a great piece of work."
Tributes
Almond described his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant musical genius", stating: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our body of work.
"Many thanks Dave for being an significant part of my existence and for the music you created with me. I wouldn't be where I am without your influence."
Richard Norris from The Grid, also paid tribute, recalling Ball's "constant humor" and "steadfast support".
"Forming a duo with someone is different from being in a band, the connection is very tight," he added.
"That was the case with us. We went through so many remarkable, extraordinary, memorable moments together. Many thanks, Dave."
Formative Years
Brought into the world 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 of age.
He grew up in the seaside town with his new family his caregivers, who changed his first name from Paul to David, alongside his younger sister his sister, who was similarly welcomed.
He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both learning art. Inspired by a shared love of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the very year, and promptly recorded an EP.
Creative Collaboration
The pair were an unusual combination: Ball was the quiet musician, hunched over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they attained a rare musical alchemy.
Ball had developed a interest with synthesizers after watching Kraftwerk perform on BBC science show Tomorrow's World, and began to marry dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second most popular song of the early 80s, selling 21 million units globally. Together with hits by other artists, Human League and Ultravox, it helped paved the way for the electronic music style of the 80s.
The song was also featured on their first album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which produced 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 1982.
Professional Journey
Fame had its benefits. "I enjoyed being able to purchase my initial property, having financial security and travelling, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball not long ago told with a publication.
But it also caused challenges. "Sudden riches meant we could afford newfound drugs to alleviate the boredom" of media interviews and TV performances, Ball explained.
"I know that's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a valid cause, because it applies for so many bands."
During the hedonistic lifestyle, the pair were also drifting apart, but they succeeded to create a second classic album - the unconventional, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released another album, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the band to concentrate on individual endeavors.
Almond went on to have a successful solo career, featuring the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who combined acid house with melodic sounds over a enduring collaboration.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, releasing the charting album Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following a further hiatus, they returned in recent years, issuing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was intended to be a farewell show at the O2 Arena on September 30, that year.
Yet, they remained active, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.
Ball recently characterized the band's upcoming release as a tribute to the New York club scene they frequented while recording their initial records.
He added that his time in hospital had shaped the band's sound.
"I experienced unusual memories when I was coming and going of the hospital because I was on morphine," he explained to a music magazine.
"Our latest tracks are a electronic representation of the noises in my head from that time.
"Simultaneously, it's about the times me and Marc had in the 80s."
The final mixes were completed only days before Ball passed away. It is due for release in Spring 2026.
