The talented musician, a key member of the groundbreaking 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Together with vocalist Marc Almond, the pair achieved a global success with their cover of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in 1984, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a seminal work of synth-pop.
He later founded the pioneering electronic act The Grid, who secured 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, just weeks after performing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event 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, after a spate of health issues.
"I ended up damage myself quite a bit," he commented in 2023. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my back and fractured about five ribs and fractured my wrist."
Following contracting a lung infection and developing sepsis, he was placed in an medically-induced sleep and stayed in the hospital for seven months.
Nevertheless, he had been in "a great place emotionally" over the summer, as he was developing a new album with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication in the coming year.
"He was focused and very pleased with the new album that we actually finished only a short time ago," stated the singer in a tribute.
"It's so sad as next year was all set to be such an positive time for him, and I find comfort from the fact that he heard the completed album and felt that it was a great piece of work."
Tributes
Almond described his collaborator as "an exceptionally talented musical genius", stating: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our body of work.
"Many thanks 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."
Richard Norris from The Grid, also paid tribute, recalling Ball's "endless laughter" and "steadfast support".
"Being in a duo with someone is different from joining a band, the connection is incredibly close," he added.
"That's how it was with us. We went through so many extraordinary, extraordinary, life-affirming experiences as a team. Thank you, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a one-parent family in Chester in the late 50s, Ball was given up for adoption when he was a year and a half old.
He was raised in the seaside town with his new family Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his given name from his birth name to his adopted name, together with his sibling Susan, who was similarly welcomed.
He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both learning fine arts. Inspired by a shared love of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the very year, and promptly recorded an extended play.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an unusual pairing: Ball was the reserved musician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic showman, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they attained a unique creative synergy.
Ball had developed a interest with synthesizers after viewing the band Kraftwerk appear on BBC program Tomorrow's World, and started to marry moody electronic sounds to the catchy tunes Almond was composing.
Their signature song became the UK's second most popular single of 1981, shifting 21 million units worldwide. Together with successful tracks by Gary Numan, Human League and electronic acts, it contributed to cleared the way for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.
The song was also included on their full-length debut, their initial LP, which produced two further high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the record up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at the second position in 1982.
Professional Journey
Fame had its benefits. "I loved being able to purchase my initial property, having financial security and travelling, which makes me sound like a Miss World," Ball not long ago told with a publication.
But it also presented challenges. "Newfound wealth allowed we could afford newfound drugs 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 valid cause, because it works for so many bands."
During the party-filled existence, the pair were also growing distant, but they managed to produce a second memorable record - the unconventional, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released one more album, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group to concentrate on other projects.
Almond proceeded to have a prosperous individual path, including the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who mixed dance music with melodic sounds over a long-lasting partnership.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell reunited in 2001, releasing the charting record Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following a further hiatus, they returned in recent years, releasing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was intended to be a final performance at the large venue on September 30, 2018.
Yet, they stayed together, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.
Ball recently described the duo's new album as a homage to the New York club scene they frequented while recording their first two albums.
He noted that his time in hospital had influenced the band's sound.
"I experienced strange recollections when I was coming and going of hospital because I was on morphine," he told a music magazine.
"Our latest tracks are a electronic representation of the sounds in my mind from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences we got up to in the 80s."
The final mixes were finished only a short time before Ball passed away. It is due for release in Spring 2026.
