The talented musician, a key member of the innovative 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Alongside vocalist Marc Almond, the pair scored a global success with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a seminal work of synth-pop.
He subsequently founded the pioneering techno group The Grid, who achieved popular acclaim with 1994's Swamp Thing.
Ball died calmly in his rest at his residence in London on October 22, 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 performance, Ball performed in a wheelchair, as he had for the last two years, following a spate of health issues.
"I ended up injure myself significantly," he commented in 2023. "I fractured spinal bones in my spine and fractured about five ribs and fractured my arm."
After contracting a lung infection and developing blood poisoning, he was put in an induced coma and remained in the hospital for half a year.
Nevertheless, he had been in "a great place mentally" over the summer, as he was developing a fresh record with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is set for release next year.
"He was concentrated and so happy with the new album that we actually finished only a few days ago," stated the singer in a tribute.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was completely planned 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."
Tributes
Almond described his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant musical genius", 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 existence and for the songs you gave me. I couldn't be where I am without your influence."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, shared his condolences, remembering Ball's "endless laughter" and "steadfast support".
"Being in a partnership with someone is distinct from being in a band, the bond is incredibly close," he continued.
"That's how it was with us. We went through so many remarkable, extraordinary, life-affirming moments together. Thank you, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a one-parent family in the city of Chester in 1959, Ball was given up for adoption when he was 18 months of age.
He was raised in the seaside town with his new family his caregivers, who changed his first name from his birth name to David, together with his sibling his sister, who was similarly welcomed.
He encountered Almond at an art college in the late 70s, where they were both studying art. Inspired by a mutual passion of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the same year, and quickly recorded an EP.
Creative Collaboration
The pair were an unusual pairing: Ball was the reserved technician, hunched over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they achieved a rare creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with electronic instruments after watching Kraftwerk appear on BBC program Tomorrow's World, and began to combine moody electronic sounds to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.
Their signature song became the UK's second most popular song of 1981, selling millions of copies globally. Together with hits by other artists, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it contributed to cleared the path for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.
The track was also featured on their full-length debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which produced two further high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the record up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which peaked at number two in 1982.
Career Highlights
Success had its upsides. "I enjoyed being able to purchase my initial property, having financial security and exploring, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball not long ago shared with a publication.
But it also presented problems. "Sudden riches meant we could purchase newfound drugs to alleviate the monotony" of press appearances and TV performances, Ball explained.
"I realize that's a common saying, but it's a truism for a good reason, because it applies for so many musicians."
During the party-filled existence, the pair were also drifting apart, but they succeeded to produce a second classic album - the wayward, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out another album, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the band to focus on other projects.
Almond went on to have a prosperous solo career, including the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who combined acid house with ambient pop over a long-lasting partnership.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell came back together in the early 2000s, producing the Top 40 album Cruelty Without Beauty.
After a further break, they reappeared in 2018, releasing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was supposed to be a final performance at the O2 Arena on 30 September, 2018.
Yet, they remained together, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.
Ball lately described the band's new album as a tribute to the NYC nightlife they frequented while recording their initial records.
He added that his time in medical care had shaped the band's sound.
"I had 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 those days.
"In parallel, it's about the times me and Marc had in the 1980s."
The final mixes were finished only days before Ball passed away. It is due for release in the spring of 2026.
