The talented musician, a key member of the innovative 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the pair achieved a global success with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a seminal work of synth-pop.
He later founded the innovative techno group The Grid, who achieved popular acclaim with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly 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 Festival in the Thames-side town.
Health Struggles
At that performance, Ball performed in a mobility chair, as he had for the previous couple of years, following a spate of ill-health.
"I ended up injure myself quite a bit," he stated in a recent interview. "I fractured spinal bones in my back and fractured about five ribs and fractured my arm."
Following catching pneumonia and developing blood poisoning, he was put in an induced coma and stayed in the hospital for seven months.
However, he had been in "a great place emotionally" during the summer, as he worked on a new album with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is set for publication next year.
"He was concentrated and so happy with the new album that we actually finished only a short time ago," said the vocalist in a tribute.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was all set to be such an positive year for him, and I find comfort from the fact that he heard the finished record and felt that it was a great piece of work."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond referred to his bandmate as "an exceptionally talented creative mastermind", adding: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our legacy.
"Many thanks Dave for being an significant aspect of my existence and for the songs you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without your influence."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, also paid tribute, remembering Ball's "constant humor" and "unwavering friendship".
"Being in a partnership with someone is distinct from joining a band, the bond is incredibly close," he added.
"That was the case with us. We went through so many remarkable, extraordinary, life-affirming experiences as a team. Many thanks, Dave."
Formative Years
Brought into the world into a one-parent family in Chester in 1959, Ball was given up for adoption when he was 18 months of age.
He grew up in Blackpool with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his given name from Paul to David, alongside his sibling 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 Northern Soul, they established Soft Cell the same year, and promptly recorded an EP.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an unusual pairing: Ball was the reserved musician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they attained a rare musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with electronic instruments after watching Kraftwerk perform on a television program Tomorrow's World, and began to combine dark electronica to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second biggest-selling single of the early 80s, shifting 21 million units globally. Together with successful tracks by other artists, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it contributed to paved the path for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.
The track was also featured on their full-length debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which spawned two additional high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the album up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which peaked at number two in 1982.
Professional Journey
Success had its upsides. "I loved being able to afford my initial property, having money and exploring, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball recently shared with a music magazine.
But it also caused problems. "Sudden riches allowed we could purchase substances to relieve the monotony" of press appearances and television shows, Ball explained.
"I realize that's a common saying, but it's a cliché for a valid cause, because it works for so many musicians."
During the party-filled existence, the duo were also growing distant, but they succeeded to produce a follow-up memorable record - the unconventional, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released one more album, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band to concentrate on individual endeavors.
Almond went on to have a successful solo career, featuring the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who mixed acid house with melodic sounds over a enduring partnership.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell came back together in 2001, releasing the charting album Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following another break, they reappeared in recent years, issuing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was supposed to be a final performance at the large venue on 30 September, 2018.
However, they remained together, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic restrictions.
Ball recently characterized the duo'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 medical care had influenced the group's music.
"I experienced strange recollections when I was coming and going of hospital because I was on morphine," he told a music magazine.
"Our latest tracks are a digital reflection of the sounds in my head from that time.
"In parallel, it's about the times we got up to in the 80s."
The last versions were completed only a short time before Ball died. It is due for release in Spring 2026.
