The talented musician, a key member of the pioneering 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the team scored a worldwide hit with their version of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a classic of electronic music.
He subsequently founded the innovative electronic act The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully in his sleep at his residence in London on October 22, only a short time after playing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in the Thames-side town.
Health Struggles
At that performance, Ball appeared in a wheelchair, as he had for the previous couple of years, following a spate of ill-health.
"I managed to damage myself quite a bit," he stated in 2023. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my spine and fractured about multiple ribs and broke my wrist."
After catching 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 "a great place mentally" over the summer, as he was developing a new album with Almond, called the upcoming Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication next year.
"He was focused and so happy with the latest project that we actually completed only a few days ago," said 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 find comfort from the knowledge that he listened to the finished record and believed that it was a masterpiece."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond described his collaborator as "an exceptionally talented musical genius", adding: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our body of work.
"Many thanks Dave for being an significant part of my life and for the songs you gave me. I wouldn't be where I am without you."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, shared his condolences, remembering Ball's "endless laughter" and "steadfast support".
"Forming a duo with someone is different from being in a band, the bond is incredibly close," he added.
"That was the case with us. We experienced so many remarkable, incredible, life-affirming experiences together. Many thanks, Dave."
Formative Years
Born into a one-parent family in Chester in 1959, Ball was put up for adoption when he was a year and a half old.
He was raised in the seaside town with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his first name from his birth name to his adopted name, together with his sibling his sister, who was similarly welcomed.
He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both learning fine arts. Inspired by a shared love of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the very year, and quickly recorded an EP.
Creative Collaboration
The pair were an distinctive pairing: Ball was the reserved musician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a charismatic showman, all glitter and eye-liner; but they attained a rare musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with synthesizers after watching the band Kraftwerk appear on BBC science show Tomorrow's World, and started to combine moody electronic sounds to the catchy tunes Almond was composing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second most popular single of 1981, selling millions of copies globally. Alongside hits by other artists, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it contributed to cleared the way for the electronic music style of the 80s.
The track was also included on their full-length debut, their initial LP, which produced two further top five singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the album up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at number two in 1982.
Career Highlights
Fame had its benefits. "I enjoyed being able to purchase my initial property, having financial security and travelling, which makes me sound like a Miss World," Ball not long ago shared with a music magazine.
But it also presented problems. "Newfound wealth allowed we could afford substances to relieve the boredom" of press appearances and television shows, Ball explained.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a good reason, because it applies for so many bands."
Amidst the party-filled existence, the pair were also drifting apart, but they succeeded to produce a follow-up memorable record - the unconventional, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released another LP, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group to focus on individual endeavors.
Almond went on to have a successful individual path, including the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who mixed acid house with melodic sounds over a long-lasting collaboration.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell came back together in 2001, producing the Top 40 album Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following a further break, they reappeared in recent years, issuing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was intended to be a farewell show at the O2 Arena on 30 September, 2018.
Yet, they stayed together, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.
Ball recently described the band's new album as a tribute to the New York club scene they visited while making their first two albums.
He noted that his time in hospital had shaped the group's music.
"I experienced unusual memories when I was coming and going of the hospital because I was on pain medication," he explained to a music magazine.
"The new songs are a electronic representation of the noises in my mind from that time.
"In parallel, it's about the times we had in the 1980s."
The final mixes were completed only a short time before Ball passed away. It is due for release in the spring of 2026.
