The talented musician, one half of the pioneering 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Together with singer Marc Almond, the team achieved a global success with their version of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in 1984, and their debut album their initial full-length release is considered a seminal work of synth-pop.
He subsequently founded the innovative electronic act The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully in his sleep at his home in London on Wednesday 22 October, only a short time after performing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in the Thames-side town.
Recent Health Challenges
At that show, Ball performed in a wheelchair, as he had for the previous couple of years, after a period of health issues.
"I managed to damage myself significantly," he stated in 2023. "I fractured spinal bones in my spine and cracked about multiple ribs and broke my wrist."
After contracting a lung infection and suffering from blood poisoning, he was placed in an induced coma and remained in hospital for half a year.
Nevertheless, he had been in "high spirits mentally" during the summer, as he worked on a new album with Almond, titled the upcoming Danceteria, which is set for release in the coming year.
"He was focused and very pleased with the latest project that we literally finished 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 take some solace from the fact that he listened to the completed album and felt that it was a masterpiece."
Tributes
Almond referred to his bandmate as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", 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 life and for the songs you gave me. I couldn't be where I am without you."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, also paid tribute, recalling Ball's "constant humor" and "steadfast support".
"Forming a duo with someone is distinct from joining a group, the bond is incredibly close," he continued.
"That's how it was with us. We experienced so many extraordinary, incredible, life-affirming moments together. Many thanks, Dave."
Formative Years
Brought into the world into a single-parent household in the city of Chester in the late 50s, Ball was given 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 first name from his birth name to his adopted name, together with his sibling Susan, who was similarly welcomed.
He met Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both studying fine arts. Inspired by a mutual passion of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the very year, and quickly produced an EP.
Musical Partnership
The duo were an distinctive combination: Ball was the quiet technician, hunched over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all glitter and eye-liner; but they attained a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had developed a fascination with electronic instruments after viewing the band Kraftwerk perform on a television science show Tomorrow's World, and began to marry dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling song of 1981, selling 21 million copies worldwide. Together with hits by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it helped cleared the path for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The song was also featured on their full-length debut, their initial LP, which spawned two additional high-charting hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the album up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which peaked at number two in 1982.
Professional Journey
Fame had its upsides. "I enjoyed being able to purchase my first home, having financial security and exploring, which makes me sound like a Miss World," Ball not long ago shared with a music magazine.
But it also caused problems. "Newfound wealth meant we could afford substances to alleviate the boredom" of media interviews and television shows, Ball said.
"I know that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a good reason, because it applies for so many musicians."
Amidst the hedonistic lifestyle, the pair were also drifting apart, but they succeeded to create a second classic album - the wayward, edgy and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released one more album, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the group to concentrate on other projects.
Almond went on to have a prosperous solo career, featuring the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who combined acid house with melodic sounds over a long-lasting collaboration.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, producing the Top 40 record 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 final performance at the large venue on September 30, that year.
However, they stayed active, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.
Ball recently characterized the band's upcoming release as a homage to the NYC nightlife they frequented while making their first two albums.
He noted that his period in hospital had shaped the group's music.
"I experienced unusual memories when I was in and out of the 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 that time.
"Simultaneously, it's about the times me and Marc had in the 80s."
The final mixes were completed only a short time before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for release in the spring of 2026.
