The talented musician, a key member of the innovative 1980s synth-pop band Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the team scored a global success with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in 1984, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a seminal work of electronic music.
He later founded the innovative techno group The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball died peacefully in his sleep at his home in London on October 22, only a short time after performing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in the Thames-side town.
Recent Health Challenges
During that show, Ball performed in a wheelchair, as he had for the previous couple of years, following a spate of health issues.
"I managed to damage myself significantly," he stated in 2023. "I broke spinal bones in my spine and cracked about five ribs and broke my arm."
Following contracting a lung infection and developing blood poisoning, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and stayed in the hospital for half a year.
However, he had been in "high spirits emotionally" during the summer, as he was developing a new album with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is set for release next year.
"He was concentrated and very pleased with the latest project that we literally completed only a few days ago," stated the singer in a heartfelt message.
"It's so sad as next year was completely planned to be such an positive time for him, and I take some solace from the knowledge that he heard the completed album and believed that it was a masterpiece."
Tributes
Almond described his bandmate as "a wonderfully brilliant musical genius", adding: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our body of work.
"Many thanks Dave for being an significant part of my life and for the music you created with me. I wouldn't be where I am without you."
Richard Norris from The Grid, shared his condolences, recalling Ball's "constant humor" and "unwavering friendship".
"Being in a duo with someone is different from being in a group, the connection is incredibly close," he added.
"That's how it was with us. We experienced so many remarkable, extraordinary, memorable moments together. Many thanks, Dave."
Formative Years
Born into a single-parent household in Chester in 1959, Ball was put up for adoption when he was a year and a half of age.
He grew up in Blackpool with his new family Donald and Brenda Ball, who altered his first name from his birth name to his adopted name, alongside his younger sister his sister, who was also adopted.
He met Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both studying art. Inspired by a mutual passion of Northern Soul, they established Soft Cell the same year, and promptly recorded an EP.
Creative Collaboration
The pair were an distinctive pairing: Ball was the quiet musician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all glitter and makeup; but they achieved a rare creative synergy.
Ball had developed a fascination with synthesizers after viewing Kraftwerk perform on a television program a popular series, and started to marry moody electronic sounds to the catchy tunes Almond was composing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling single of the early 80s, selling 21 million copies globally. Together with successful tracks by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it helped paved the way for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.
The song was also featured on their first album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which spawned two further top five hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the album up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at the second position in 1982.
Professional Journey
Fame had its upsides. "I enjoyed being able to purchase my initial property, having money and travelling, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball recently shared with a publication.
But it also caused challenges. "Newfound wealth allowed we could afford newfound drugs to alleviate the monotony" of press appearances and TV performances, Ball said.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a good reason, because it works for so many bands."
During the party-filled existence, the pair were also growing distant, but they succeeded to create a follow-up memorable record - the wayward, edgy and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released one more album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the group to concentrate on individual endeavors.
Almond went on to have a successful solo career, including the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who mixed acid house with ambient pop over a enduring partnership.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, releasing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following a further hiatus, they returned in 2018, issuing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was supposed to be a final performance at the large venue on September 30, 2018.
Yet, they stayed active, recording their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.
Ball recently described the duo'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 hospital had shaped the group's music.
"I had strange recollections when I was coming and going of hospital because I was on morphine," he told a publication.
"Our latest tracks are a electronic representation of the noises in my head from that time.
"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences me and Marc had in the 80s."
The final mixes were finished only a short time before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for release in the spring of 2026.
