The talented musician, one half of the pioneering 1980s synth-pop duo Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the team scored a global success with their cover of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a seminal work of electronic music.
He later formed the pioneering techno group The Grid, who secured chart success with their 1994 single the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully 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 previous couple of years, following a spate of health issues.
"I managed to injure myself quite a bit," he stated in 2023. "I broke spinal bones in my back and fractured about five ribs and broke my wrist."
Following contracting a lung infection and developing blood poisoning, he was placed in an medically-induced sleep and remained in hospital for seven months.
Nevertheless, he had been in "a great place emotionally" during the summer, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, called the upcoming Danceteria, which is set for release next year.
"He was concentrated and very pleased with the new album that we literally finished only a few days ago," said the vocalist in a heartfelt message.
"It's so sad as next year was all set to be such an uplifting time for him, and I find comfort from the knowledge that he listened to the finished record and felt that it was a great piece of work."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond described his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant 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 immense part of my life 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 "steadfast support".
"Being in 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 remarkable, extraordinary, life-affirming moments together. Many thanks, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a single-parent household in Chester in the late 50s, Ball was given up for adoption when he was 18 months of age.
He was raised in Blackpool with adoptive parents his caregivers, who altered his given name from Paul to David, together with his sibling his sister, who was similarly welcomed.
He met Almond at an art college in the late 70s, where they were both learning fine arts. Fuelled by a mutual passion of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the very year, and quickly produced an EP.
Creative Collaboration
The duo were an distinctive combination: Ball was the reserved musician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all glitter and makeup; but they attained a unique creative synergy.
Ball had developed a fascination with synthesizers after viewing the band Kraftwerk perform on a television program Tomorrow's World, and started to marry dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.
Their signature song became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling single of 1981, shifting millions of units worldwide. Together with hits by other artists, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it contributed to paved the path for the synth-pop sound of the 80s.
The song was also included on their first album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which produced two additional top five singles: 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 loved being able to purchase my first home, having money and travelling, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball recently shared with a music magazine.
But it also caused challenges. "Sudden riches allowed we could afford newfound drugs to alleviate the boredom" of press appearances and television shows, Ball said.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a good reason, because it applies for so many musicians."
During the party-filled existence, the pair were also growing distant, but they managed to produce a second memorable record - the unconventional, edgy and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out another LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group to focus on individual endeavors.
Almond went on to have a successful individual path, including the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who mixed dance music with melodic sounds over a long-lasting partnership.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell came back together in 2001, producing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.
After another 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 farewell show at the O2 Arena on September 30, 2018.
However, they stayed together, recording their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.
Ball lately described the duo's upcoming release as a homage to the New York club scene they visited while recording their initial records.
He noted that his time in hospital had shaped the band's sound.
"I experienced unusual memories when I was coming and going of hospital because I was on morphine," he explained to a publication.
"Our latest tracks are a electronic representation of the sounds in my head from those days.
"In parallel, it's about the times we had in the 80s."
The last versions were finished only days before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for launch in the spring of 2026.
