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 duo scored a global success with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in 1984, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a seminal work of synth-pop.
He later formed the innovative electronic act The Grid, who achieved popular acclaim with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his rest at his residence in London on October 22, only a short time after playing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in Henley-on-Thames.
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 stated in a recent interview. "I broke lower vertebrae in my spine and cracked about five ribs and fractured my arm."
Following catching a lung infection and suffering from blood poisoning, he was put in an induced coma and remained in the hospital for seven months.
However, he had been in "a great place emotionally" over the warmer months, as he worked on a new album with Almond, called Danceteria, which is scheduled for release next year.
"He was concentrated and so happy with the latest project that we literally 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 uplifting year for him, and I find comfort from the fact that he listened to the finished record and believed that it was a masterpiece."
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 body of work.
"Many thanks Dave for being an significant part of my life and for the music you gave me. I couldn't be where I am without your influence."
Richard Norris from The Grid, shared his condolences, remembering Ball's "constant humor" and "unwavering friendship".
"Forming a partnership with someone is different from being in a band, the bond is very tight," he continued.
"That was the case with us. We went through so many extraordinary, incredible, life-affirming moments as a team. Thank you, Dave."
Formative Years
Brought into the world into a single-parent household in the city of Chester in 1959, Ball was put up for adoption when he was 18 months of age.
He grew up in the seaside town with adoptive parents his caregivers, who changed his first name from his birth name to his adopted name, alongside his sibling his sister, who was also adopted.
He met Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both learning fine arts. Fuelled by a shared love of Northern Soul, they established Soft Cell the same year, and quickly produced an EP.
Creative Collaboration
The pair were an distinctive combination: Ball was the reserved musician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant showman, all sparkle and makeup; but they attained a unique creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with electronic instruments after viewing the band Kraftwerk perform on BBC program a popular series, and started to marry moody electronic sounds to the catchy tunes Almond was composing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling single of the early 80s, selling millions of units globally. Together with successful tracks by other artists, Human League and Ultravox, it contributed to cleared the path for the synth-pop sound of the 80s.
The song was also included on their first album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which produced two additional top five singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the record up with the separate release, Torch, which peaked at the second position in 1982.
Career Highlights
Fame had its benefits. "I enjoyed being able to afford my first home, having financial security and exploring, which might seem like a beauty queen," Ball recently shared with a music magazine.
But it also presented challenges. "Sudden riches meant we could afford substances to alleviate the boredom" of press appearances and TV performances, Ball explained.
"I realize that's a cliché, 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 fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out one more album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the band to concentrate 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 dance music with ambient pop over a long-lasting partnership.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, producing the charting album Cruelty Without Beauty.
After another hiatus, they returned in 2018, 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 O2 Arena on 30 September, 2018.
However, they stayed together, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic restrictions.
Ball lately characterized the duo's upcoming release as a tribute to the NYC nightlife they frequented while making their first two albums.
He noted that his period in medical care had shaped the group's music.
"I had unusual memories when I was coming and going of the hospital because I was on morphine," he told a music magazine.
"The new songs 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 finished only days before Ball died. It is due for release in the spring of 2026.
