The talented musician, a key member of the innovative 1980s synth-pop duo Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Together with singer Marc Almond, the duo achieved a worldwide hit with their version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in 1984, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a classic of electronic music.
He later founded the pioneering techno group The Grid, who achieved chart success with their 1994 single Swamp Thing.
Ball died peacefully in his rest at his home in London on Wednesday 22 October, just weeks after playing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in Henley-on-Thames.
Recent Health Challenges
During that performance, Ball performed in a mobility chair, as he had for the previous couple of years, after a spate of health issues.
"I managed to injure myself quite a bit," he commented in 2023. "I broke lower vertebrae in my spine and cracked about multiple ribs and broke my wrist."
Following contracting pneumonia and suffering from 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" during the warmer months, as he worked on a new album with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication 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 so sad as next year was all set to be such an positive year for him, and I find comfort from the fact that he heard the completed album and believed that it was a masterpiece."
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 existence and for the songs you gave me. I wouldn't be where I am without your influence."
Richard Norris from The Grid, shared his condolences, recalling Ball's "constant humor" and "steadfast support".
"Forming a duo with someone is distinct from being in a band, the bond is very tight," he added.
"That was the case with us. We went through so many remarkable, incredible, memorable moments as a team. Thank you, Dave."
Formative Years
Brought into the world into a single-parent household in Chester in the late 50s, Ball was put up for adoption when he was a year and a half old.
He grew up in Blackpool with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his given name from Paul to David, alongside his sibling Susan, who was also adopted.
He met Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in the late 70s, where they were both learning fine arts. Fuelled by a mutual passion of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the very year, and promptly produced an extended play.
Creative Collaboration
The pair were an distinctive combination: Ball was the quiet technician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all glitter and eye-liner; but they achieved a rare musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with synthesizers after viewing the band Kraftwerk perform on BBC science show a popular series, and began to marry moody electronic sounds to the catchy tunes Almond was composing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second biggest-selling song of 1981, selling millions of units worldwide. Alongside hits by other artists, Human League and Ultravox, it helped cleared the path for the synth-pop sound of the 80s.
The track was also included on their full-length debut, 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 number two in the following year.
Professional Journey
Success had its upsides. "I loved being able to afford my first home, having financial security and exploring, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball not long ago told with a publication.
But it also caused problems. "Newfound wealth meant we could afford substances to alleviate the boredom" of media interviews and TV performances, Ball said.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a good reason, because it works for so many bands."
During the party-filled existence, the pair were also growing distant, but they succeeded to produce a second memorable record - the wayward, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released another album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the band to focus on other projects.
Almond went on to have a successful solo career, featuring the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who mixed acid house with melodic sounds over a enduring collaboration.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell reunited in 2001, producing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following another break, they reappeared in 2018, issuing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was supposed to be a farewell show at the O2 Arena on September 30, that year.
However, they remained active, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.
Ball lately characterized the duo's new album as a tribute to the New York club scene they frequented while recording their first two albums.
He added that his period in hospital had shaped the band's sound.
"I had unusual memories when I was coming and going of the hospital because I was on morphine," he explained to a music magazine.
"The new songs are a digital reflection of the sounds in my mind 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 died. It is due for release in the spring of 2026.
