The talented musician, a key member of the pioneering 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Alongside vocalist Marc Almond, the duo 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 electronic music.
He later founded the innovative techno group The Grid, who secured chart success with their 1994 single the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his rest at his home in London on Wednesday 22 October, only a short time after playing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in Henley-on-Thames.
Recent Health Challenges
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 managed to damage myself significantly," he commented in a recent interview. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my back and fractured about multiple ribs and broke my arm."
After catching a lung infection and developing sepsis, he was placed in an induced coma and remained in hospital for seven months.
Nevertheless, he had been in "high spirits mentally" during the warmer months, as he was developing a new album with Almond, called Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication in the coming year.
"He was focused and very pleased 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 year for him, and I find comfort from the knowledge that he listened to the completed album and felt that it was a great piece of work."
Tributes
Almond referred to his collaborator as "an exceptionally talented creative mastermind", adding: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our body of work.
"Thank you Dave for being an immense part of my life and for the songs you gave me. I couldn't be where I am without your influence."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, shared his condolences, recalling Ball's "constant humor" and "steadfast support".
"Forming a duo with someone is distinct from joining a band, the connection is very tight," he continued.
"That's how it was with us. We experienced so many remarkable, incredible, life-affirming experiences as a team. Thank you, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a single-parent household in the city of Chester in the late 50s, Ball was given up for adoption when he was 18 months old.
He grew up in the seaside town with adoptive parents his caregivers, who changed his first name from his birth name to David, together with his younger sister his sister, who was similarly welcomed.
He encountered Almond at an art college 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 very year, and quickly produced an EP.
Creative Collaboration
The duo were an distinctive pairing: Ball was the quiet technician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all sparkle and makeup; but they achieved a unique creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with synthesizers after watching the band Kraftwerk perform on BBC science show a popular series, and started to marry dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second biggest-selling song of the early 80s, selling millions of copies worldwide. Together with hits by other artists, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it helped cleared the way for the synth-pop sound of the 80s.
The song was also featured on their full-length debut, their initial LP, which produced two additional top five singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the album up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at the second position in the following year.
Professional Journey
Success had its benefits. "I enjoyed being able to purchase my initial property, having money and exploring, which makes me sound like a Miss World," Ball recently shared with a publication.
But it also presented problems. "Newfound wealth allowed we could afford substances to relieve the boredom" of press appearances and television shows, Ball said.
"I know that's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a valid cause, because it applies for so many bands."
Amidst the hedonistic lifestyle, the pair were also drifting apart, but they succeeded to create a second classic album - the unconventional, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out another album, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the band to concentrate on individual endeavors.
Almond proceeded to have a prosperous individual path, featuring 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 enduring partnership.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell came back together in the early 2000s, releasing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following another hiatus, they returned in recent years, issuing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was intended to be a farewell show at the O2 Arena on September 30, 2018.
However, they remained active, recording their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.
Ball lately described the duo's upcoming release as a tribute to the New York club scene they frequented while making their initial records.
He noted that his period in medical care had shaped the band's sound.
"I had strange recollections when I was in and out of hospital because I was on morphine," he told a publication.
"Our latest tracks are a electronic representation of the sounds in my mind from that time.
"In parallel, it's about the times me and Marc had in the 80s."
The last versions were completed only days before Ball passed away. It is due for release in the spring of 2026.
