The talented musician, one half of the pioneering 1980s synth-pop band Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Together with vocalist Marc Almond, the pair scored a global success with their cover of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in 1984, and their first record their initial full-length release is considered a seminal work of synth-pop.
He subsequently founded the innovative techno group The Grid, who achieved chart success with their 1994 single the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully in his rest at his home in London on Wednesday 22 October, only a short time after performing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in the Thames-side town.
Recent Health Challenges
During that show, Ball appeared in a mobility chair, as he had for the last two years, following a period of ill-health.
"I managed to injure myself significantly," he commented in 2023. "I broke spinal bones in my spine and cracked about multiple ribs and fractured my wrist."
Following contracting a lung infection and developing blood poisoning, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and stayed in the hospital for half a year.
Nevertheless, he had been in "a great place emotionally" during the summer, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication in the coming year.
"He was concentrated and very pleased with the latest project that we actually finished only a short time ago," said the singer in a tribute.
"It's so sad as next year was all set to be such an positive year for him, and I find comfort from the knowledge that he listened to the finished record and believed that it was a great piece of work."
Tributes
Almond described his bandmate 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 life and for the songs you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without you."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, shared his condolences, recalling Ball's "constant humor" and "steadfast support".
"Forming a partnership 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 extraordinary, incredible, memorable moments together. Thank you, Dave."
Formative Years
Brought into the world 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 grew up in Blackpool with his new family his caregivers, who changed his first name from his birth name to his adopted name, alongside his sibling Susan, who was also adopted.
He encountered Almond at an art college 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 promptly recorded an EP.
Creative Collaboration
The duo were an distinctive combination: Ball was the quiet musician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant showman, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they attained a unique creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with electronic instruments after viewing the band Kraftwerk perform on a television program Tomorrow's World, and started to combine dark electronica to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.
Their signature song became the United Kingdom's second most popular song of the early 80s, shifting 21 million copies worldwide. Alongside hits by other artists, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it helped paved the path for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The song was also included on their full-length debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which produced two further top five hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the record up with the separate release, Torch, which peaked at the second position in 1982.
Career Highlights
Fame had its benefits. "I loved being able to purchase my first home, having money and exploring, which might seem like a beauty queen," Ball recently shared with a music magazine.
But it also caused problems. "Sudden riches allowed we could purchase newfound drugs to alleviate the monotony" of press appearances and TV performances, Ball said.
"I know that's a common saying, but it's a truism for a good reason, because it works for so many musicians."
During the party-filled existence, the pair were also drifting apart, but they managed to create a second classic album - the unconventional, edgy and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released another album, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the group to concentrate on individual endeavors.
Almond proceeded to have a successful solo career, including the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who combined dance music with melodic sounds over a enduring partnership.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell came back together in 2001, producing the charting album Cruelty Without Beauty.
After a further break, they returned in 2018, releasing the original singles 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, that year.
However, they remained together, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.
Ball lately described the band's upcoming release as a tribute to the New York club scene they frequented while recording their initial records.
He added that his period in medical care had influenced the group's music.
"I experienced strange recollections when I was coming and going of the hospital because I was on morphine," he told a publication.
"The new songs are a electronic representation of the sounds in my head from that time.
"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences me and Marc had in the 1980s."
The final mixes were finished only a short time before Ball passed away. It is due for launch in the spring of 2026.
