The talented musician, a key member of the groundbreaking 1980s synth-pop duo Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Together with vocalist Marc Almond, the team scored a worldwide hit with their version 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 formed the innovative techno group The Grid, who achieved popular acclaim with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball died calmly in his sleep at his home in London on October 22, just weeks after playing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in Henley-on-Thames.
Recent Health Challenges
At that show, Ball appeared in a wheelchair, as he had for the previous couple of years, after a period of ill-health.
"I managed to damage myself significantly," he stated in 2023. "I broke lower vertebrae in my spine and cracked about multiple ribs and broke my arm."
Following contracting a lung infection and suffering from blood poisoning, he was placed in an medically-induced sleep and remained in hospital for half a year.
However, he had been in "high spirits mentally" over the warmer months, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, called Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication in the coming year.
"He was concentrated and very pleased with the latest project that we literally finished only a few days ago," said the singer in a heartfelt message.
"It's so sad as next year was all set to be such an positive time for him, and I take some solace from the knowledge that he listened to the completed album and believed that it was a masterpiece."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond described his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", stating: "He was the heart and soul 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 music 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 "endless laughter" and "unwavering friendship".
"Forming a duo with someone is distinct from being in a group, the bond is very tight," he continued.
"That's how it was with us. We experienced so many remarkable, incredible, memorable experiences together. Thank you, Dave."
Formative Years
Brought into the world into a one-parent family in Chester in the late 50s, Ball was given up for adoption when he was 18 months old.
He grew up in the seaside town with adoptive parents his caregivers, who altered his first name from Paul to David, alongside his sibling his sister, who was similarly welcomed.
He met Almond at an art college in 1977, 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, hunched over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they achieved a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had developed a interest with synthesizers after watching the band Kraftwerk appear on a television science show a popular series, and started to marry moody electronic sounds to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second most popular single of the early 80s, selling 21 million copies globally. Alongside hits by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it helped cleared the path for the electronic music style of the 80s.
The track was also featured on their first album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which produced two further high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the record up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which peaked at the second position in the following year.
Career Highlights
Fame had its upsides. "I loved being able to afford my initial property, having money and travelling, which makes me sound like a Miss World," Ball not long ago told with a publication.
But it also caused challenges. "Sudden riches allowed we could purchase substances to alleviate the boredom" of press appearances and TV performances, Ball said.
"I realize that's a common saying, but it's a cliché for a valid cause, because it applies for so many bands."
Amidst the party-filled existence, the duo were also growing distant, but they managed to create a second classic album - the wayward, edgy and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released one more LP, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving 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 mixed dance music with ambient pop over a long-lasting partnership.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell came back together in the early 2000s, producing the charting record Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following another break, they reappeared in recent years, releasing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was supposed to be a final performance at the large venue on 30 September, 2018.
However, they remained together, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.
Ball recently described the band's upcoming release as a homage to the New York club scene they frequented while recording their first two albums.
He added that his time in medical care had influenced the band's sound.
"I experienced strange recollections when I was coming and going of the hospital because I was on morphine," he told a music magazine.
"The new songs are a electronic representation of the sounds in my head from those days.
"In parallel, it's about the times we got up to in the 1980s."
The last versions were completed only a short time before Ball died. It is due for launch in the spring of 2026.
