The talented musician, a key member of the innovative 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Alongside vocalist Marc Almond, the pair achieved a global success with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record their initial full-length release is considered a classic of synth-pop.
He subsequently formed the innovative electronic act The Grid, who secured chart success with 1994's Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully in his rest at his residence in London on October 22, only a short time after performing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in Henley-on-Thames.
Health Struggles
At that show, Ball performed in a mobility chair, as he had for the previous couple of years, following a spate of health issues.
"I ended up damage myself significantly," he stated in 2023. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my spine and fractured about five ribs and fractured my arm."
After contracting pneumonia and developing sepsis, he was placed in an medically-induced sleep and stayed in hospital for half a year.
Nevertheless, he had been in "a great place emotionally" over the warmer months, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, called Danceteria, which is set for publication in the coming year.
"He was focused and very pleased with the new album that we actually finished only a short time ago," said the vocalist in a heartfelt message.
"It's so sad as next year was completely planned to be such an uplifting year for him, and I take some solace from the fact that he listened to the completed album and felt that it was a great piece of work."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond referred to his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", stating: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our body of work.
"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 you."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, also paid tribute, remembering Ball's "endless laughter" and "unwavering friendship".
"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 experienced so many remarkable, incredible, memorable moments as a team. Many thanks, Dave."
Formative Years
Brought into the world into a single-parent household in Chester in the late 50s, Ball was put up for adoption when he was 18 months of age.
He was raised in Blackpool with his new family Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his given name from his birth name to David, alongside his sibling his sister, who was also adopted.
He encountered Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both learning art. Fuelled by a shared love of Northern Soul, they established Soft Cell the same year, and promptly recorded an extended play.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an distinctive combination: Ball was the quiet technician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all glitter and makeup; but they achieved a rare creative synergy.
Ball had developed a interest with electronic instruments after viewing Kraftwerk perform on a television science show a popular series, and began to combine dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second most popular single of 1981, selling 21 million units worldwide. Together with hits by other artists, Human League and electronic acts, it contributed to paved the path for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The track was also included on their full-length debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which spawned two further top five hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the album up with the separate release, Torch, which peaked at number two in 1982.
Professional Journey
Success had its upsides. "I loved being able to afford my first home, having money and exploring, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball not long ago shared with a music magazine.
But it also presented problems. "Sudden riches allowed we could purchase newfound drugs to relieve the monotony" of media interviews and TV performances, Ball said.
"I know that's a common saying, but it's a truism for a good reason, because it works for so many musicians."
Amidst the party-filled existence, the pair were also growing distant, but they managed to produce a second memorable record - the wayward, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out one more album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band to concentrate on other projects.
Almond went on to have a successful solo career, featuring the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who mixed dance music with ambient pop over a long-lasting partnership.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, releasing the charting record Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following another break, they reappeared in 2018, issuing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was intended to be a farewell show at the large venue on September 30, 2018.
However, they stayed together, recording their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.
Ball recently described the duo's upcoming release as a tribute to the NYC nightlife they visited while making their first two albums.
He noted that his time in hospital had shaped the band's sound.
"I experienced strange recollections when I was in and out of the hospital because I was on morphine," he explained to a music magazine.
"The new songs are a digital reflection of the noises in my mind from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences we had in the 80s."
The last versions were finished only a short time before Ball passed away. It is due for release in Spring 2026.
