The talented musician, one half of the innovative 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Together with vocalist Marc Almond, the duo scored a global success with their cover of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in 1984, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a seminal work of synth-pop.
He later formed the pioneering electronic act The Grid, who achieved chart success with their 1994 single Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully in his sleep at his home in London on Wednesday 22 October, just weeks after playing a headline show 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 period of ill-health.
"I ended up damage myself quite a bit," he commented in 2023. "I fractured spinal bones in my spine and cracked about multiple ribs and fractured my arm."
Following catching a lung infection and suffering from blood poisoning, he was placed in an induced coma and remained in the hospital for seven months.
However, he had been in "high spirits emotionally" during the summer, as he was developing a fresh record with Almond, called Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication in the coming year.
"He was focused and so happy with the latest project that we actually finished only a few days ago," said the vocalist 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 finished record and felt that it was a great piece of work."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond referred to his collaborator as "an exceptionally talented creative mastermind", adding: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our legacy.
"Thank you Dave for being an significant part of my existence and for the songs you gave me. I couldn't be where I am without you."
Richard Norris from The Grid, also paid tribute, remembering Ball's "endless laughter" and "steadfast support".
"Being in a partnership with someone is different from being in a band, the bond is incredibly close," he added.
"That was the case with us. We experienced so many extraordinary, extraordinary, memorable experiences as a team. Many thanks, Dave."
Formative Years
Brought into the world into a one-parent family in Chester in 1959, Ball was put up for adoption when he was 18 months of age.
He grew up in Blackpool with his new family Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his given name from his birth name to his adopted name, together with his sibling his sister, who was similarly welcomed.
He encountered Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both learning fine arts. Fuelled by a shared love of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and quickly produced an extended play.
Creative Collaboration
The pair were an distinctive pairing: Ball was the reserved musician, hunched over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic showman, all glitter and eye-liner; but they achieved a unique creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with synthesizers after watching the band Kraftwerk appear on a television program a popular series, and started to marry moody electronic sounds to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling single of the early 80s, shifting millions of copies globally. Together with hits by other artists, Human League and Ultravox, it contributed to cleared the way for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The track was also featured on their first album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which spawned two further high-charting hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the record up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at number two in the following year.
Career Highlights
Success had its upsides. "I loved being able to afford my initial property, having money and exploring, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball recently shared with a music magazine.
But it also presented problems. "Newfound wealth meant we could purchase substances to alleviate the monotony" of press appearances and TV performances, Ball said.
"I know that's a common saying, but it's a cliché for a good reason, because it works for so many musicians."
During the party-filled existence, the pair were also drifting apart, but they succeeded to produce a second memorable record - the wayward, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released one more LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band to concentrate on individual endeavors.
Almond went on 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 mixed dance music with melodic sounds over a enduring collaboration.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, producing the Top 40 album Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following a further hiatus, they reappeared in 2018, 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, 2018.
Yet, they stayed together, recording their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic restrictions.
Ball lately described the duo's new album as a homage to the New York club scene they frequented while recording their first two albums.
He added that his period in hospital had influenced the band's sound.
"I experienced strange recollections when I was in and out of hospital because I was on pain medication," he told a music magazine.
"The new songs are a electronic representation of the sounds in my mind from those days.
"In parallel, it's about the times we got up to in the 80s."
The final mixes were completed only days before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for release in Spring 2026.
