The talented musician, one half of the groundbreaking 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Together with vocalist Marc Almond, the pair scored a global success with their version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record their initial full-length release is considered a seminal work of electronic music.
He later formed the pioneering techno group The Grid, who achieved chart success with 1994's 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.
Health Struggles
During that show, Ball performed in a wheelchair, as he had for the previous couple of years, after a period of health issues.
"I managed to injure myself significantly," he stated in a recent interview. "I broke spinal bones in my back and fractured about five ribs and fractured my arm."
After catching pneumonia and suffering from blood poisoning, he was put in an induced coma and remained in hospital for seven months.
However, he had been in "a great place emotionally" during the summer, as he worked on a new album with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is scheduled for release in the coming year.
"He was concentrated and so happy with the latest project that we literally completed only a short time ago," stated the singer in a heartfelt message.
"It's so sad as next year was completely planned to be such an uplifting year for him, and I take some solace from the fact that he heard the completed album and felt that it was a great piece of work."
Tributes
Almond referred to his bandmate as "a wonderfully brilliant musical genius", adding: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our legacy.
"Many thanks Dave for being an significant aspect of my existence 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".
"Forming a duo with someone is different from being in a band, the bond is incredibly close," he continued.
"That was the case with us. We experienced so many remarkable, incredible, memorable experiences as a team. Thank you, Dave."
Early Life
Born into a single-parent household in Chester in 1959, Ball was put up for adoption when he was 18 months old.
He was raised in Blackpool 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 his sister, who was similarly welcomed.
He met Almond at an art college in the late 70s, where they were both studying art. Inspired by a shared love of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and quickly recorded an EP.
Musical Partnership
The duo were an unusual combination: Ball was the reserved musician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant showman, all glitter and eye-liner; but they achieved a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had developed a fascination with electronic instruments after viewing Kraftwerk appear on BBC program Tomorrow's World, and began to combine moody electronic sounds to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling single of the early 80s, shifting 21 million units worldwide. Alongside successful tracks by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it contributed to cleared the way for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.
The song was also included on their first album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which spawned two additional high-charting hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the album up with the separate release, Torch, which peaked at the second position in the following year.
Career Highlights
Fame had its upsides. "I loved being able to purchase my first home, having financial security and travelling, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball recently told with a music magazine.
But it also presented challenges. "Sudden riches allowed we could purchase substances to alleviate the monotony" of press appearances and TV performances, Ball explained.
"I realize that's a common saying, but it's a cliché for a valid cause, because it applies for so many musicians."
Amidst the hedonistic lifestyle, the duo were also growing distant, but they succeeded to produce a follow-up memorable record - the unconventional, edgy and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released another LP, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group to focus on individual endeavors.
Almond went on 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 ambient pop over a long-lasting partnership.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, releasing the charting record Cruelty Without Beauty.
After another hiatus, they reappeared in 2018, issuing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was supposed to be a farewell show at the large venue on 30 September, 2018.
Yet, they stayed together, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic restrictions.
Ball lately characterized the band's upcoming release as a tribute to the NYC nightlife they visited while recording their first two albums.
He added 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 morphine," he explained to a music magazine.
"The new songs are a digital reflection of the sounds in my mind from that time.
"In parallel, it's about the times we got up to in the 80s."
The last versions were finished only days before Ball died. It is scheduled for launch in the spring of 2026.
