The talented musician, one half of the groundbreaking 1980s synth-pop band Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the team achieved a global success with their version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a classic of electronic music.
He later founded the pioneering techno group The Grid, who secured chart success with their 1994 single the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his sleep at his residence in London on October 22, only a short time after performing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in Henley-on-Thames.
Recent Health Challenges
At that performance, Ball performed in a wheelchair, as he had for the previous couple of years, following a spate of health issues.
"I managed to injure myself significantly," he commented in a recent interview. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my back and cracked about five ribs and broke my wrist."
After catching pneumonia and developing blood poisoning, he was placed in an induced coma and stayed in the hospital for half a year.
However, he had been in "a great place mentally" over the warmer months, as he was developing a new album with Almond, called the upcoming Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication next year.
"He was focused and very pleased with the latest project that we actually finished only a short time ago," said the singer in a heartfelt message.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was completely planned to be such an positive year for him, and I take some solace from the fact that he listened to the completed album and believed that it was a great piece of work."
Tributes
Almond described his collaborator as "an exceptionally talented musical genius", stating: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our body of work.
"Thank you Dave for being an significant part of my life and for the songs you created with me. I wouldn't be where I am without you."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, also paid tribute, recalling Ball's "constant humor" and "unwavering friendship".
"Being in a duo with someone is different from joining a group, the connection is very tight," he added.
"That was the case with us. We went through so many remarkable, extraordinary, memorable moments as a team. Many thanks, Dave."
Formative Years
Brought into the world into a one-parent family in Chester in 1959, Ball was given up for adoption when he was 18 months of age.
He grew up in the seaside town with adoptive parents his caregivers, who altered his given name from his birth name to his adopted name, alongside his younger sister Susan, who was also adopted.
He met Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in the late 70s, where they were both studying fine arts. Fuelled by a mutual passion of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and quickly recorded an EP.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an unusual combination: Ball was the quiet technician, hunched over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they achieved a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with synthesizers after watching Kraftwerk perform on a television science show a popular series, and began to combine dark electronica to the catchy tunes Almond was composing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second most popular song of the early 80s, selling 21 million units worldwide. Alongside successful tracks by other artists, Human League and Ultravox, it helped cleared the way for the synth-pop sound of the 80s.
The song was also featured on their first album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which produced two further top five hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the record up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which reached at number two in 1982.
Career Highlights
Fame had its upsides. "I enjoyed being able to afford 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 challenges. "Newfound wealth meant we could purchase substances to relieve the monotony" of press appearances and TV performances, Ball said.
"I know that's a common saying, but it's a cliché for a valid cause, because it works for so many musicians."
During the party-filled existence, the pair were also drifting apart, but they managed to create a follow-up classic album - the unconventional, edgy and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out one more LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the band to focus on individual endeavors.
Almond proceeded to have a prosperous individual path, including the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who combined acid house with ambient pop over a long-lasting collaboration.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell came back together in the early 2000s, releasing the Top 40 album Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following a further hiatus, they reappeared in 2018, issuing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was intended to be a final performance at the large venue on September 30, that year.
However, they stayed together, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic restrictions.
Ball recently characterized the band's upcoming release as a tribute to the New York club scene they visited while recording their initial records.
He added that his period in hospital had influenced the band's sound.
"I experienced unusual memories when I was coming and going of hospital because I was on pain medication," he told a publication.
"The new songs are a digital reflection of the sounds in my head from those days.
"In parallel, it's about the times me and Marc got up to in the 1980s."
The final mixes were completed only days before Ball passed away. It is due for release in Spring 2026.
