The talented musician, one half of the groundbreaking 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Together with singer Marc Almond, the team scored a worldwide hit with their cover of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in 1984, and their first record their initial full-length release is regarded as a classic of synth-pop.
He subsequently founded the innovative techno group The Grid, who achieved popular acclaim with their 1994 single the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his rest at his residence in London on October 22, only a short time after performing 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, after a period of ill-health.
"I ended up injure myself significantly," he commented in a recent interview. "I fractured spinal bones in my spine and fractured about five ribs and fractured my wrist."
After contracting a lung infection and suffering from blood poisoning, he was placed in an medically-induced sleep and remained in the hospital for half a year.
However, he had been in "a great place mentally" during the warmer months, as he was developing a new album with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is set for release in the coming year.
"He was focused and so happy with the new album that we actually completed only a few days ago," said the singer in a tribute.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was all set to be such an positive year for him, and I find comfort from the knowledge that he heard the completed album and felt that it was a masterpiece."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond referred to his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", stating: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our body of work.
"Thank you Dave for being an significant aspect of my life and for the music you gave me. I couldn't be where I am without you."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, also paid tribute, remembering Ball's "constant humor" and "steadfast support".
"Being in a partnership 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, extraordinary, life-affirming moments as a team. Thank you, Dave."
Early Life
Born into a single-parent household in the city of Chester in the late 50s, Ball was put up for adoption when he was 18 months old.
He grew up in Blackpool with adoptive parents his caregivers, who altered his given name from his birth name to David, together with his sibling Susan, who was also adopted.
He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in the late 70s, where they were both learning art. Inspired by a mutual passion of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the very year, and quickly produced an extended play.
Creative Collaboration
The pair were an unusual combination: Ball was the reserved technician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they attained a rare musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with electronic instruments after watching the band Kraftwerk appear on a television science show Tomorrow's World, and began to combine moody electronic sounds to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.
Their signature song became the United Kingdom's second most popular single of 1981, shifting millions of copies worldwide. Together with hits by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it contributed to paved the path for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.
The track was also featured on their first album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which spawned two further top five singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the record up with the separate release, Torch, which peaked at number two in the following year.
Career Highlights
Success had its upsides. "I enjoyed being able to purchase my first home, having financial security and travelling, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball recently shared with a publication.
But it also presented problems. "Sudden riches meant we could purchase newfound drugs to relieve the boredom" of press appearances and TV performances, Ball explained.
"I know that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a good reason, because it applies for so many bands."
During the party-filled existence, the pair were also growing distant, but they managed to produce a second classic album - the unconventional, edgy and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out another LP, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band to concentrate on individual endeavors.
Almond went on to have a successful individual path, featuring the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who mixed dance music with melodic sounds over a long-lasting collaboration.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell came back together in 2001, producing the charting record Cruelty Without Beauty.
After a further hiatus, they reappeared in recent years, issuing 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 active, recording their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.
Ball recently described the band's new album as a homage to the New York club scene they frequented while making their first two albums.
He noted that his time 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 told a publication.
"Our latest tracks are a electronic representation of the sounds in my mind from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences we had in the 1980s."
The last versions were finished only a short time before Ball died. It is scheduled for release in Spring 2026.
