The talented musician, one half of the pioneering 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the pair scored a global success 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 synth-pop.
He subsequently formed the pioneering techno group The Grid, who achieved chart success with 1994's Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his sleep at his home in London on Wednesday 22 October, just weeks after playing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in the Thames-side town.
Recent Health Challenges
During that performance, Ball appeared in a wheelchair, as he had for the last two years, following a period of ill-health.
"I ended up injure myself quite a bit," he commented in 2023. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my back and cracked about five ribs and broke my wrist."
Following catching pneumonia and suffering from sepsis, he was put in an induced coma and stayed in hospital for half a year.
However, he had been in "high spirits emotionally" during the summer, as he worked on a new album with Almond, called Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication in the coming year.
"He was concentrated and so happy with the new album that we actually completed only a short time ago," said the singer in a tribute.
"It's so sad as next year was all set to be such an positive time for him, and I take some solace from the knowledge that he heard the completed album and felt that it was a masterpiece."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond described 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 existence and for the songs you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without your influence."
Richard Norris from The Grid, also paid tribute, recalling Ball's "constant humor" and "unwavering friendship".
"Forming a duo with someone is distinct from being in a group, the connection is very tight," he continued.
"That was the case with us. We went through so many extraordinary, extraordinary, memorable moments together. Thank you, Dave."
Formative Years
Born into a one-parent family in the city of Chester in the late 50s, Ball was given 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, alongside his younger sister Susan, who was also adopted.
He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both learning art. Inspired by a mutual passion of Northern Soul, they established Soft Cell the very year, and promptly recorded an EP.
Creative Collaboration
The pair were an unusual pairing: Ball was the quiet technician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all glitter and eye-liner; but they achieved a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had developed a interest with electronic instruments after viewing the band Kraftwerk appear on a television science show a popular series, and started to marry dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.
Their signature song became the United Kingdom's second most popular single of 1981, selling 21 million units globally. Together with successful tracks by other artists, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it contributed to paved the way for the electronic music style of the 80s.
The song was also featured on their full-length debut, their initial LP, which spawned two further high-charting hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the album up with the separate release, Torch, which peaked at number two in 1982.
Career Highlights
Success had its benefits. "I enjoyed being able to afford my initial property, having money and travelling, which makes me sound like a Miss World," Ball recently told with a publication.
But it also caused problems. "Newfound wealth allowed we could afford newfound drugs to alleviate the monotony" of press appearances and TV performances, Ball said.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a valid cause, because it applies for so many musicians."
Amidst the hedonistic lifestyle, the pair were also growing distant, but they succeeded to produce a second 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 ending the group to focus on individual endeavors.
Almond proceeded to have a successful individual path, featuring 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 collaboration.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, producing the Top 40 album Cruelty Without Beauty.
After a further break, they returned in recent years, releasing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was supposed to be a final performance at the large venue on September 30, that year.
However, they stayed active, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.
Ball lately described the duo's upcoming release as a homage to the New York club scene they visited while recording their first two albums.
He added that his period in medical care had influenced the group's music.
"I had unusual memories when I was coming and going of the hospital because I was on pain medication," he explained to a publication.
"Our latest tracks are a electronic representation of the sounds in my head from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences we got up to in the 80s."
The final mixes were finished only a short time before Ball died. It is due for release in Spring 2026.
