The talented musician, a key member of the groundbreaking 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Together with singer Marc Almond, the duo scored a global success with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in 1984, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a classic of electronic music.
He subsequently founded the pioneering techno group The Grid, who achieved popular acclaim with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his sleep at his home in London on Wednesday 22 October, only a short time after performing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in the Thames-side town.
Recent Health Challenges
During that performance, Ball performed in a wheelchair, as he had for the last two years, after a spate of ill-health.
"I ended up damage myself significantly," he stated in 2023. "I broke spinal bones in my back and fractured about multiple ribs and fractured my arm."
After contracting pneumonia and developing sepsis, he was placed in an induced coma and remained in hospital for seven months.
However, he had been in "a great place mentally" during the summer, as he was developing a fresh record with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is set for release next year.
"He was concentrated and very pleased with the new album that we literally completed only a short time ago," said the singer in a heartfelt message.
"It's so sad as next year was completely planned to be such an positive time 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 referred to his bandmate as "a wonderfully brilliant musical genius", stating: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our legacy.
"Thank you Dave for being an significant part of my existence and for the songs you gave me. I couldn't be where I am without you."
Richard Norris from The Grid, shared his condolences, recalling Ball's "constant humor" and "steadfast support".
"Being in a partnership with someone is different from joining a band, the bond is incredibly close," he continued.
"That's how it was with us. We went through so many extraordinary, incredible, life-affirming 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 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 David, alongside his sibling Susan, who was similarly welcomed.
He met Almond at an art college in the late 70s, where they were both learning art. Inspired by a shared love of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and promptly recorded an EP.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an distinctive combination: Ball was the reserved technician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant showman, all sparkle and makeup; but they achieved a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with electronic instruments after viewing Kraftwerk perform on a television program Tomorrow's World, and began to marry moody electronic sounds to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.
Their signature song became the UK's second most popular song of the early 80s, shifting 21 million units worldwide. Together with successful tracks by other artists, Human League and electronic acts, it contributed to paved the path for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The track was also featured on their first album, their initial LP, which produced two additional high-charting hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the record up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which peaked at the second position in 1982.
Professional Journey
Success had its benefits. "I loved being able to afford my first home, having money and exploring, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball not long ago told with a publication.
But it also presented challenges. "Sudden riches allowed we could afford newfound drugs to alleviate the monotony" of press appearances and television shows, Ball said.
"I realize that's a common saying, but it's a truism for a valid cause, because it applies for so many bands."
Amidst the hedonistic lifestyle, the pair were also drifting apart, but they succeeded to create a second memorable record - the wayward, edgy and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out one more LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band to focus on individual endeavors.
Almond went on to have a successful individual path, including the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who mixed dance music with melodic sounds over a enduring collaboration.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell reunited in 2001, producing the charting album Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following another hiatus, they reappeared in 2018, issuing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was supposed to be a farewell show at the O2 Arena on September 30, that year.
Yet, they stayed together, 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 noted that his period in medical care had influenced the band's sound.
"I experienced strange recollections when I was coming and going of the hospital because I was on pain medication," he told a publication.
"Our latest tracks are a electronic representation of the sounds in my head from that time.
"Simultaneously, it's about the times me and Marc got up to in the 80s."
The last versions were completed only a short time before Ball passed away. It is due for release in the spring of 2026.
