The talented musician, a key member of the groundbreaking 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the team achieved a global success with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in 1984, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a classic of synth-pop.
He later formed the pioneering 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, 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
At that performance, Ball appeared in a mobility chair, as he had for the previous couple of years, after a period of ill-health.
"I managed to injure myself quite a bit," he commented in a recent interview. "I broke lower vertebrae in my spine and fractured about multiple ribs and broke my arm."
Following contracting a lung infection and developing sepsis, he was placed in an induced coma and remained in hospital for half a year.
Nevertheless, he had been in "high spirits emotionally" during the warmer months, as he worked on a new album with Almond, titled the upcoming Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication in the coming year.
"He was focused and so happy with the latest project that we literally finished only a short time ago," stated the singer 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 felt that it was a masterpiece."
Tributes
Almond referred to his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant musical genius", adding: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our legacy.
"Thank you Dave for being an immense part of my life and for the songs you created with me. I wouldn't be where I am without you."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, also paid tribute, remembering Ball's "endless laughter" and "steadfast support".
"Forming a duo with someone is different from being in a group, the connection is incredibly close," he continued.
"That's how it was with us. We went through so many extraordinary, incredible, life-affirming moments as a team. Many thanks, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a single-parent household in the city of Chester in 1959, Ball was put up for adoption when he was 18 months old.
He was raised in the seaside town with adoptive parents his caregivers, who altered his first name from his birth name to David, alongside his sibling Susan, who was similarly welcomed.
He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in the late 70s, where they were both learning fine arts. Fuelled by a shared love of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and promptly recorded an extended play.
Creative Collaboration
The pair were an distinctive pairing: Ball was the reserved musician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant showman, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they achieved a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with synthesizers after watching Kraftwerk perform on BBC program Tomorrow's World, and started to marry dark electronica to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second most popular song of the early 80s, shifting millions of copies globally. Alongside successful tracks by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it contributed to cleared the way for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The track was also included on their first album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which spawned two additional top five hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the record up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which reached at the second position in the following year.
Career Highlights
Fame had its upsides. "I enjoyed being able to afford my first home, having financial security and exploring, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball not long ago told with a music magazine.
But it also caused challenges. "Newfound wealth allowed we could afford newfound drugs to relieve the boredom" of press appearances and television shows, Ball explained.
"I know 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 pair were also drifting apart, but they succeeded to create a follow-up classic album - the unconventional, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released another LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the band to focus on other projects.
Almond proceeded 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 dance music with melodic sounds over a long-lasting collaboration.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell came back together in 2001, releasing the Top 40 album Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following another hiatus, they returned in 2018, 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 30 September, 2018.
Yet, they stayed together, recording their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.
Ball recently characterized the duo's new album as a homage to the NYC nightlife they frequented while recording their first two albums.
He added that his time in hospital had influenced the group's music.
"I experienced strange recollections when I was coming and going of the hospital because I was on morphine," he told a publication.
"The new songs are a electronic representation of the sounds in my head from that time.
"In parallel, it's about the experiences me and Marc got up to in the 1980s."
The final mixes were finished only days before Ball passed away. It is due for release in Spring 2026.
