The talented musician, one half of the innovative 1980s synth-pop band Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Together with singer Marc Almond, the duo achieved a worldwide hit with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in 1984, and their first record their initial full-length release is considered a classic of electronic music.
He later founded the innovative electronic act The Grid, who achieved chart success with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his rest at his residence 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.
Health Struggles
At that show, Ball performed in a mobility chair, as he had for the previous couple of years, following a spate of health issues.
"I ended up injure myself quite a bit," he stated in 2023. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my back and fractured about multiple ribs and broke my arm."
After contracting a lung infection and suffering from blood poisoning, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and stayed in the hospital for half a year.
However, he had been in "high spirits mentally" over the summer, as he was developing a new album with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is set for publication next year.
"He was focused and so happy with the new album that we actually finished only a few days ago," stated 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 take some solace from the knowledge that he heard the finished record and believed that it was a masterpiece."
Tributes
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 legacy.
"Many thanks Dave for being an significant aspect of my existence and for the music you gave me. I wouldn't be where I am without your influence."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, also paid tribute, remembering Ball's "constant humor" and "unwavering friendship".
"Forming a partnership with someone is distinct from joining a band, the bond is incredibly close," he continued.
"That was the case with us. We went through so many remarkable, incredible, memorable moments together. Thank you, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a one-parent family in Chester in the late 50s, Ball was given up for adoption when he was a year and a half old.
He grew up in the seaside town with adoptive parents his caregivers, who altered his given name from his birth name to David, alongside his sibling Susan, who was similarly welcomed.
He met Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both studying fine arts. Fuelled by a mutual passion of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the same year, and promptly recorded an extended play.
Musical Partnership
The duo were an unusual combination: Ball was the quiet musician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a charismatic showman, all sparkle and makeup; but they achieved a rare creative synergy.
Ball had developed a fascination with synthesizers after watching the band Kraftwerk appear on BBC science show Tomorrow's World, and started to marry moody electronic sounds to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second most popular song of the early 80s, shifting millions of units globally. Together with hits by Gary Numan, Human League and Ultravox, it helped cleared the path for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The song was also featured on their full-length debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which spawned two additional high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the record up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at number two in 1982.
Professional Journey
Success had its benefits. "I loved being able to purchase my first home, having financial security and travelling, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball not long ago shared with a music magazine.
But it also presented problems. "Newfound wealth allowed we could purchase newfound drugs to alleviate the monotony" of media interviews and television shows, Ball explained.
"I know that's a common saying, but it's a cliché for a valid cause, because it applies for so many musicians."
Amidst the hedonistic lifestyle, the pair were also growing distant, but they succeeded to create a second memorable record - the wayward, 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 concentrate on other projects.
Almond proceeded to have a prosperous solo career, featuring the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who combined dance music with ambient pop over a enduring collaboration.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell reunited in 2001, producing the charting album Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following a further hiatus, they returned in recent years, issuing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was intended to be a farewell show at the O2 Arena on September 30, 2018.
Yet, they remained active, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.
Ball lately described the duo's new album as a tribute to the New York club scene they frequented while making their initial records.
He noted that his period in hospital had influenced the group's music.
"I had unusual memories when I was in and out of 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 experiences we got up to in the 80s."
The last versions were completed only a short time before Ball died. It is scheduled for release in Spring 2026.
