The talented musician, a key member of the innovative 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Alongside 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 Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a seminal work of synth-pop.
He later formed the pioneering electronic act The Grid, who secured chart success with 1994's Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his sleep at his residence 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.
Health Struggles
At that performance, Ball appeared in a wheelchair, as he had for the last two years, after a spate of health issues.
"I managed to damage myself significantly," he stated in 2023. "I broke spinal bones in my spine and cracked about multiple ribs and fractured my wrist."
Following contracting pneumonia and suffering from blood poisoning, he was put in an induced coma and stayed in the hospital for half a year.
Nevertheless, he had been in "a great place mentally" during the summer, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, called Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication in the coming year.
"He was concentrated and very pleased with the new album that we actually finished only a short time ago," said the singer in a heartfelt message.
"It's so sad as next year was completely planned to be such an positive year for him, and I take some solace 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 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 aspect of my existence and for the songs you gave me. I couldn't be where I am without you."
Richard Norris from The Grid, shared his condolences, remembering Ball's "constant humor" and "unwavering friendship".
"Being in a partnership with someone is distinct from joining a group, the connection is incredibly close," he continued.
"That's how it was with us. We experienced so many remarkable, extraordinary, memorable experiences as a team. Thank you, Dave."
Early Life
Born into a single-parent household in Chester in the late 50s, Ball was given up for adoption when he was a year and a half old.
He was raised in the seaside town with his new family Donald and Brenda Ball, who altered his first name from his birth name to his adopted name, together with his younger sister his sister, who was also adopted.
He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in the late 70s, where they were both learning fine arts. Inspired by a mutual passion of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and promptly produced an EP.
Creative Collaboration
The pair were an unusual pairing: Ball was the reserved technician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all glitter and eye-liner; but they achieved a rare musical alchemy.
Ball had developed a interest with synthesizers after viewing Kraftwerk appear on a television science show a popular series, and began to combine moody electronic sounds to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second most popular song of 1981, shifting millions of units globally. Alongside successful tracks by other artists, Human League and Ultravox, it helped cleared the way for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.
The track was also featured on their first album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which produced two additional high-charting hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the album up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at the second position in the following year.
Career Highlights
Fame had its upsides. "I loved being able to afford my initial property, having financial security and exploring, which might seem like a beauty queen," Ball recently shared with a publication.
But it also presented problems. "Newfound wealth meant we could afford substances to alleviate the boredom" of media interviews and television shows, Ball explained.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a valid cause, because it works for so many bands."
Amidst the hedonistic lifestyle, the pair were also growing distant, but they succeeded to produce a second classic album - the wayward, edgy and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out another LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band 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 formed The Grid, who mixed acid house with melodic sounds over a long-lasting partnership.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell reunited in 2001, producing the Top 40 album Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following a further break, they reappeared in recent years, releasing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was intended to be a farewell show at the O2 Arena on September 30, 2018.
Yet, they remained active, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic restrictions.
Ball recently described the band's upcoming release as a tribute to the NYC nightlife they visited while making their first two albums.
He noted that his period in hospital had influenced the band's sound.
"I experienced strange recollections when I was in and out of the hospital because I was on morphine," he told a publication.
"Our latest tracks are a digital reflection of the sounds in my mind from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences we got up to in the 1980s."
The final mixes were completed only a short time before Ball died. It is due for release in the spring of 2026.
