The talented musician, a key member of the pioneering 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Together with vocalist Marc Almond, the team achieved a worldwide hit with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in 1984, and their debut album their initial full-length release is considered a classic of synth-pop.
He later founded the pioneering electronic act The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with their 1994 single the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his rest at his home in London on October 22, only a short time after playing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in the Thames-side town.
Health Struggles
During that performance, Ball appeared in a mobility chair, as he had for the previous couple of years, after a period of ill-health.
"I managed to damage myself quite a bit," he stated in 2023. "I broke lower vertebrae in my back and cracked about multiple ribs and fractured my arm."
Following catching pneumonia and suffering from blood poisoning, he was put in an induced coma and remained in hospital for seven months.
Nevertheless, he had been in "high spirits emotionally" during the summer, as he was developing a fresh record with Almond, called Danceteria, which is scheduled for release in the coming year.
"He was focused and so happy with the new album that we literally completed only a short time ago," stated the vocalist in a tribute.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was completely planned to be such an uplifting time 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."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond referred to his collaborator as "an exceptionally talented creative mastermind", stating: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our legacy.
"Many thanks Dave for being an immense part of my life and for the music you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without your influence."
Richard Norris from The Grid, shared his condolences, remembering Ball's "endless laughter" and "unwavering friendship".
"Forming a partnership with someone is different from joining a band, the connection is incredibly close," he continued.
"That's how it was with us. We went through so many remarkable, incredible, memorable moments as a team. Thank you, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a one-parent family in Chester in 1959, Ball was given up for adoption when he was a year and a half of age.
He grew up in Blackpool with his new family Donald and Brenda Ball, who altered his first name from his birth name to his adopted name, together with his sibling his sister, who was also adopted.
He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in the late 70s, where they were both studying art. Inspired by a shared love of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the very year, and promptly recorded an EP.
Creative Collaboration
The duo were an distinctive combination: Ball was the reserved technician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant showman, all glitter and eye-liner; but they achieved a rare creative synergy.
Ball had developed a interest with synthesizers after watching Kraftwerk perform on a television science show Tomorrow's World, and started to marry moody electronic sounds to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second most popular song of the early 80s, shifting millions of copies worldwide. Together with hits by other artists, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it contributed to cleared the path for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.
The track was also included on their first album, their initial LP, which spawned two additional high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the album up with the separate release, Torch, which peaked at number two in 1982.
Career Highlights
Success had its benefits. "I enjoyed being able to purchase my first home, having money and exploring, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball recently shared with a publication.
But it also caused problems. "Sudden riches meant we could purchase newfound drugs to relieve the boredom" 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 works for so many musicians."
Amidst the party-filled existence, the duo were also drifting apart, but they succeeded to create a second classic album - the unconventional, edgy and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out another LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group to focus on individual endeavors.
Almond went on to have a prosperous individual path, including the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who combined acid house 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 a further hiatus, they returned in 2018, issuing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was supposed to be a farewell show at the large venue on September 30, 2018.
However, they stayed active, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic restrictions.
Ball recently characterized the band's upcoming release as a tribute to the NYC nightlife they frequented while recording their initial records.
He added that his time in medical care had shaped the group's music.
"I experienced strange recollections when I was in and out of the hospital because I was on morphine," he explained to a music magazine.
"The new songs are a electronic representation of the sounds in my mind from those days.
"In parallel, it's about the experiences me and Marc got up to in the 80s."
The last versions were finished only days before Ball died. It is scheduled for launch in Spring 2026.
