The talented musician, one half of the pioneering 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Together with singer Marc Almond, the duo achieved a global success with their version of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in 1984, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a classic of synth-pop.
He subsequently founded the pioneering electronic act The Grid, who secured chart success with their 1994 single the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully in his sleep at his residence in London on October 22, only a short time after performing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in the Thames-side town.
Health Struggles
During that show, Ball performed in a mobility chair, as he had for the previous couple of years, after a spate of health issues.
"I ended up injure myself significantly," he commented in a recent interview. "I broke lower vertebrae in my back and fractured about multiple ribs and broke my wrist."
After contracting pneumonia and developing blood poisoning, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and remained in hospital for half a year.
However, he had been in "high spirits emotionally" over the summer, as he worked on a new album with Almond, titled the upcoming Danceteria, which is scheduled for release in the coming year.
"He was concentrated and so happy with the latest project that we actually completed only a few days 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 fact that he listened to the completed album and felt that it was a great piece of work."
Tributes
Almond referred to his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant musical genius", adding: "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 your influence."
Richard Norris from The Grid, also paid tribute, remembering Ball's "constant humor" and "unwavering friendship".
"Forming a duo with someone is different from being in a band, the connection is incredibly close," he continued.
"That's how it was with us. We went through so many extraordinary, extraordinary, memorable moments together. Thank you, Dave."
Formative Years
Brought into the world into a one-parent family in the city of Chester in the late 50s, Ball was put up for adoption when he was a year and a half old.
He was raised in Blackpool with his new family Donald and Brenda Ball, who altered his first name from Paul to David, alongside his sibling Susan, who was also adopted.
He encountered Almond at an art college in the late 70s, where they were both studying art. Inspired by a shared love of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and promptly recorded an EP.
Creative Collaboration
The duo were an distinctive combination: Ball was the reserved technician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant showman, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they achieved a rare musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with electronic instruments after watching Kraftwerk appear on BBC program a popular series, and began to combine dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.
Their signature song became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling single of 1981, shifting millions of units globally. Together with successful tracks by Gary Numan, Human League and Ultravox, it helped cleared the path for the synth-pop sound of the 80s.
The track was also included on their first album, their initial LP, which produced two further top five 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.
Career Highlights
Fame had its benefits. "I loved being able to purchase my initial property, having money and exploring, which makes me sound like a Miss World," Ball recently told with a publication.
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 know that's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a valid cause, because it applies for so many bands."
During the party-filled existence, the duo were also growing distant, but they managed to produce a follow-up classic album - the unconventional, edgy and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released another album, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group to focus 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 created The Grid, who mixed dance music with ambient pop over a long-lasting partnership.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell reunited in 2001, releasing the charting album Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following a further break, they returned in recent years, issuing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was supposed to be a farewell show at the large venue on September 30, 2018.
However, they stayed together, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.
Ball recently described the band's new album as a homage to the NYC nightlife they frequented while recording their initial records.
He noted that his period in medical care had shaped the band's sound.
"I experienced unusual memories when I was in and out of the hospital because I was on pain medication," he told a music magazine.
"Our latest tracks are a electronic representation of the sounds in my mind from those days.
"In parallel, it's about the times me and Marc got up to in the 1980s."
The final mixes were finished only a short time before Ball died. It is scheduled for release in Spring 2026.
