The talented musician, a key member of the innovative 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Together with singer Marc Almond, the team achieved a global success with their cover of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in 1984, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a classic of electronic music.
He subsequently founded the pioneering electronic act The Grid, who achieved popular acclaim with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball died peacefully in his sleep at his residence in London on October 22, just weeks after playing 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, following a spate of ill-health.
"I managed to damage myself significantly," he commented in 2023. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my back and cracked about five ribs and broke my wrist."
Following catching pneumonia and developing blood poisoning, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and remained in the hospital for seven months.
Nevertheless, he had been in "high spirits emotionally" over the summer, as he was developing a new album with Almond, titled the upcoming Danceteria, which is scheduled for release next year.
"He was concentrated and very pleased with the latest project that we actually finished only a short time ago," stated the vocalist in a heartfelt message.
"It's so sad as next year was all set to be such an uplifting year for him, and I find comfort from the knowledge that he heard the completed album and believed that it was a great piece of work."
Tributes
Almond described his collaborator as "an exceptionally talented musical genius", adding: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our legacy.
"Thank you Dave for being an significant aspect of my life and for the music you gave me. I wouldn't be where I am without you."
Richard Norris from The Grid, shared his condolences, recalling Ball's "constant humor" and "unwavering friendship".
"Forming a duo with someone is different from joining a group, the connection is incredibly close," he continued.
"That's how it was with us. We experienced so many remarkable, incredible, life-affirming moments as a team. Thank you, Dave."
Formative Years
Brought into the world into a one-parent family in the city of Chester in 1959, Ball was put up for adoption when he was 18 months of age.
He was raised in the seaside town with adoptive parents his caregivers, who changed his first name from Paul to David, together with his younger sister his sister, who was similarly welcomed.
He met Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both studying fine arts. Inspired by a shared love of Northern Soul, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and promptly produced an extended play.
Musical Partnership
The duo were an unusual combination: Ball was the quiet technician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a charismatic showman, all glitter and eye-liner; but they attained a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with electronic instruments after viewing the band Kraftwerk appear on BBC program Tomorrow's World, and began to combine dark electronica to the catchy tunes Almond was composing.
Their signature song became the UK's second biggest-selling song of 1981, shifting 21 million units globally. Together with hits by other artists, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it helped paved the path for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.
The track was also included on their first album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which spawned two further top five singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the record up with the separate release, Torch, which peaked at number two in 1982.
Career Highlights
Success had its benefits. "I enjoyed being able to purchase my first home, having money and exploring, which makes me sound like a Miss World," Ball not long ago told with a publication.
But it also caused challenges. "Sudden riches meant we could afford newfound drugs to relieve the monotony" of press appearances and television shows, Ball explained.
"I know that's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a valid cause, because it applies for so many bands."
During the party-filled existence, the pair were also growing distant, but they managed to produce a second classic album - the wayward, edgy and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out another album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the band to concentrate on individual endeavors.
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 mixed dance music with ambient pop over a long-lasting collaboration.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell reunited in 2001, producing the charting album Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following another hiatus, they reappeared in 2018, releasing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was supposed to be a farewell show at the O2 Arena on 30 September, 2018.
Yet, they stayed active, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.
Ball lately described the duo's new album as a tribute to the New York club scene they frequented while recording their initial records.
He noted that his period in hospital had shaped the band's sound.
"I experienced strange recollections when I was in and out of hospital because I was on morphine," he explained to a music magazine.
"Our latest tracks are a digital reflection 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 due for launch in Spring 2026.
