The talented musician, one half of the innovative 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Together with singer Marc Almond, the team scored a global success with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in 1984, and their first record their initial full-length release is considered a seminal work of electronic music.
He later founded the pioneering techno group The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with their 1994 single the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully in his rest at his residence in London on October 22, just weeks after performing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in Henley-on-Thames.
Health Struggles
During that show, Ball performed in a wheelchair, as he had for the last two years, after a period of ill-health.
"I ended up injure myself significantly," he commented in 2023. "I broke spinal bones in my back and cracked about five ribs and fractured my arm."
Following contracting pneumonia and suffering from sepsis, he was put in an induced coma and stayed in hospital for seven months.
However, he had been in "high spirits emotionally" over the warmer months, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, called Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication next year.
"He was focused and very pleased with the new album that we actually completed only a few days ago," stated the singer in a tribute.
"It's so sad as next year was all set to be such an uplifting time for him, and I find comfort from the fact that he heard the completed album and felt that it was a masterpiece."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond described his bandmate as "a wonderfully brilliant musical genius", adding: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our legacy.
"Many thanks Dave for being an significant part of my life and for the songs 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".
"Being in a partnership with someone is different from being in a group, the connection is very tight," he added.
"That's how it was with us. We experienced so many extraordinary, incredible, memorable experiences as a team. Thank you, 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 a year and a half old.
He was raised in the seaside town with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his first name from Paul to David, alongside his sibling Susan, who was also adopted.
He encountered Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both studying art. Inspired by a mutual passion of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the same year, and promptly recorded an EP.
Creative Collaboration
The duo were an unusual combination: Ball was the quiet musician, hunched over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic showman, all glitter and makeup; but they achieved a unique creative synergy.
Ball had developed a interest with electronic instruments after watching Kraftwerk appear on BBC program Tomorrow's World, and started to combine moody electronic sounds to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second biggest-selling song of 1981, shifting 21 million copies worldwide. Together with successful tracks by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it helped cleared the way for the synth-pop sound of the 80s.
The track was also featured on their full-length debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which spawned two further high-charting hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the record up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which peaked at number two in 1982.
Professional Journey
Fame had its benefits. "I loved being able to purchase my initial property, having financial security and travelling, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball recently shared with a music magazine.
But it also caused challenges. "Sudden riches allowed we could afford substances to relieve the monotony" of media interviews and television shows, Ball said.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a valid cause, because it applies for so many musicians."
During the hedonistic lifestyle, the duo were also drifting apart, but they succeeded to create a second classic album - the wayward, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out another LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the band to focus on other projects.
Almond went on to have a prosperous solo career, including the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who combined dance music with ambient pop over a long-lasting partnership.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell reunited in 2001, releasing the charting record Cruelty Without Beauty.
After a further hiatus, they returned in recent years, releasing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was intended to be a farewell show at the large venue on 30 September, 2018.
Yet, they remained together, recording their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.
Ball recently characterized the duo's new album as a tribute to the NYC nightlife they visited while recording their first two albums.
He added that his period in medical care had influenced the band's sound.
"I had strange recollections when I was coming and going of hospital because I was on pain medication," he explained to a music magazine.
"Our latest tracks are a electronic representation of the noises in my head from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences me and Marc got up to in the 80s."
The final mixes were finished only days before Ball died. It is due for release in Spring 2026.
