The talented musician, one half of the innovative 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Alongside vocalist Marc Almond, the pair achieved a global success with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record their initial full-length release is regarded as a seminal work of synth-pop.
He later founded the innovative techno group The Grid, who achieved popular acclaim with their 1994 single Swamp Thing.
Ball died calmly in his rest at his residence in London on Wednesday 22 October, just weeks after performing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in the Thames-side town.
Recent Health Challenges
At that performance, Ball appeared in a wheelchair, as he had for the previous couple of years, following a spate of health issues.
"I managed to damage myself significantly," he stated in 2023. "I broke lower vertebrae in my spine and fractured about five ribs and fractured my arm."
Following catching a lung infection and developing blood poisoning, he was put in an induced coma and stayed in the hospital for half a year.
Nevertheless, he had been in "high spirits emotionally" over the warmer months, as he worked on a new album with Almond, titled the upcoming Danceteria, which is set for release in the coming year.
"He was focused and so happy with the latest project that we actually finished only a few days ago," said the singer in a heartfelt message.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was completely planned to be such an uplifting time for him, and I find comfort from the knowledge that he heard the completed album and felt that it was a great piece of work."
Tributes
Almond referred to his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", adding: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our body of work.
"Thank you Dave for being an immense aspect of my existence 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 "endless laughter" and "steadfast support".
"Forming a duo with someone is distinct from joining a group, the bond is very tight," he continued.
"That was the case with us. We went through so many remarkable, incredible, life-affirming moments as a team. Thank you, Dave."
Formative Years
Born 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 his caregivers, who altered his given name from his birth name to his adopted name, together with his younger sister his sister, who was also adopted.
He met Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in the late 70s, where they were both studying fine arts. Fuelled by a shared love of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the very year, and promptly produced an EP.
Creative Collaboration
The pair were an distinctive combination: Ball was the reserved musician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all glitter and makeup; but they attained a rare creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with electronic instruments after watching Kraftwerk perform on BBC science show Tomorrow's World, and started to combine moody electronic sounds to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.
Their signature song became the UK's second most popular single of 1981, shifting 21 million copies globally. Together with hits by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it contributed to cleared the path for the electronic music style of the 80s.
The song was also included on their full-length debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which produced two additional high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the record up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which reached at number two in the following year.
Career Highlights
Success had its benefits. "I loved being able to purchase my first home, having money and travelling, which might seem like a beauty queen," Ball recently told with a publication.
But it also presented problems. "Newfound wealth meant we could afford substances to relieve the monotony" of press appearances and TV performances, Ball said.
"I know that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a valid cause, because it applies for so many bands."
During the party-filled existence, the duo were also growing distant, but they succeeded to produce a follow-up classic album - the unconventional, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out another LP, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the group to concentrate on other projects.
Almond proceeded to have a successful solo career, including the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who combined dance music with melodic sounds over a long-lasting collaboration.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell came back together in 2001, producing the charting album Cruelty Without Beauty.
After another break, they returned in 2018, issuing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was supposed to be a final performance at the large venue on 30 September, 2018.
Yet, they stayed active, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.
Ball lately described the band's new album as a tribute to the NYC nightlife they visited while recording their first two albums.
He noted that his period in hospital 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 told a music magazine.
"Our latest tracks are a digital reflection of the noises in my mind from that time.
"Simultaneously, it's about the times we had in the 1980s."
The last versions were completed only a short time before Ball died. It is scheduled for launch in the spring of 2026.
