The talented musician, a key member of the pioneering 1980s synth-pop band Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Together with singer Marc Almond, the duo scored a global success with their version of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in 1984, and their first record their initial full-length release is considered a seminal work of synth-pop.
He later founded the pioneering techno group The Grid, who achieved chart success with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball died calmly in his rest at his home in London on Wednesday 22 October, only a short time after playing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in Henley-on-Thames.
Health Struggles
At that performance, Ball performed in a mobility chair, as he had for the last two years, following a spate of ill-health.
"I managed to injure myself quite a bit," he commented in 2023. "I broke spinal bones in my back and cracked about five ribs and broke my arm."
After catching a lung infection and suffering from blood poisoning, he was put in an induced coma and stayed in the hospital for half a year.
However, he had been in "high spirits emotionally" during the warmer months, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is set for publication in the coming year.
"He was concentrated and so happy with the latest project that we actually completed only a short time ago," stated the singer in a heartfelt message.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was all set to be such an uplifting year for him, and I find comfort from the fact that he listened to the completed album and felt that it was a masterpiece."
Tributes
Almond referred to his bandmate as "an exceptionally talented musical genius", stating: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our legacy.
"Thank you Dave for being an significant part of my existence and for the songs you created with me. I wouldn't be where I am without your influence."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, shared his condolences, remembering Ball's "endless laughter" and "steadfast support".
"Being in a duo with someone is different from being in a group, the bond is incredibly close," he continued.
"That was the case with us. We went through so many remarkable, extraordinary, memorable moments as a team. Thank you, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a one-parent family in Chester in 1959, Ball was put up for adoption when he was a year and a half of age.
He was raised in Blackpool with adoptive parents his caregivers, who changed his given name from his birth name to his adopted name, together with his sibling his sister, who was also adopted.
He encountered Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both learning art. Inspired by a mutual passion of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and promptly produced an EP.
Creative Collaboration
The pair were an distinctive combination: Ball was the quiet technician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant showman, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they achieved a rare creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with electronic instruments after viewing Kraftwerk perform on BBC science show Tomorrow's World, and started to combine moody electronic sounds to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.
Their signature song became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling single of 1981, selling millions of copies globally. Together with hits by other artists, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it contributed to cleared the path for the electronic music style of the 80s.
The song was also included on their first album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which produced two further high-charting hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the record up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at the second position in the following year.
Professional Journey
Fame had its upsides. "I loved being able to purchase my initial property, having money and travelling, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball not long ago told with a publication.
But it also presented challenges. "Newfound wealth meant we could purchase 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 cliché for a valid cause, because it works for so many bands."
Amidst the party-filled existence, the pair were also growing distant, but they managed to produce a follow-up classic album - the wayward, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released one more album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band to concentrate on individual endeavors.
Almond went on to have a prosperous individual path, including the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who combined acid house with ambient pop over a enduring partnership.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, releasing the Top 40 album Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following another break, they reappeared in recent years, releasing the new tracks 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, that year.
However, they remained active, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.
Ball recently described the band's new album as a tribute to the NYC nightlife they frequented while making their initial records.
He added that his time in hospital had shaped the band's sound.
"I experienced unusual memories when I was in and out of hospital because I was on morphine," he told a music magazine.
"The new songs are a digital reflection of the sounds in my head from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences me and Marc got up to in the 80s."
The last versions were finished only a short time before Ball died. It is due for release in Spring 2026.
