The talented musician, a key member of the innovative 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Together with singer Marc Almond, the team achieved a worldwide hit with their cover of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a seminal work of synth-pop.
He subsequently founded the pioneering electronic act The Grid, who achieved popular acclaim with 1994's Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his rest at his residence 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.
Health Struggles
At that show, Ball performed in a mobility chair, as he had for the previous couple of years, after a spate of health issues.
"I managed to damage myself quite a bit," he commented in 2023. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my spine and cracked about five ribs and fractured my wrist."
After contracting pneumonia and suffering from sepsis, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and remained in the hospital for seven months.
Nevertheless, he had been in "a great place mentally" during the summer, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is scheduled for release in the coming year.
"He was focused and so happy with the latest project that we actually finished only a few days ago," stated the vocalist in a heartfelt message.
"It's so sad as next year was all set to be such an positive 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 collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", stating: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our legacy.
"Many thanks Dave for being an significant part of my existence and for the songs you gave me. I wouldn't be where I am without you."
Richard Norris from The Grid, shared his condolences, remembering Ball's "constant humor" and "unwavering friendship".
"Being in a duo with someone is different from joining a group, the bond is incredibly close," he continued.
"That's how it was with us. We went through so many extraordinary, incredible, life-affirming moments together. Many thanks, Dave."
Formative Years
Born into a one-parent family in the city of Chester in 1959, Ball was given up for adoption when he was a year and a half old.
He grew up in the seaside town with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his given name from his birth name to his adopted name, alongside his sibling his sister, who was similarly welcomed.
He encountered Almond at an art college in the late 70s, where they were both learning art. Fuelled by a mutual passion of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the very year, and quickly produced an EP.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an distinctive combination: Ball was the quiet technician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant showman, all sparkle and makeup; but they attained a rare musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with synthesizers after watching the band Kraftwerk appear on a television program Tomorrow's World, and started to combine dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second most popular song of 1981, shifting 21 million copies worldwide. Together with hits by other artists, Human League and electronic acts, it helped cleared the way for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The song was also featured on their first album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which produced two further top five hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the album up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at the second position in the following year.
Professional Journey
Success had its benefits. "I loved being able to purchase my initial property, having financial security and travelling, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball not long ago told with a music magazine.
But it also presented challenges. "Sudden riches allowed we could purchase newfound drugs to alleviate the boredom" of media interviews and TV performances, Ball explained.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a valid cause, because it applies for so many musicians."
Amidst the party-filled existence, the pair were also growing distant, but they succeeded to create a follow-up classic album - the unconventional, edgy and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released another album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the band to focus on individual endeavors.
Almond went on to have a successful solo career, 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 enduring partnership.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell came back together in 2001, producing the Top 40 album Cruelty Without Beauty.
After another break, they reappeared in recent years, issuing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was supposed to be a final performance at the O2 Arena on 30 September, that year.
However, they stayed active, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.
Ball recently characterized the band's new album as a tribute to the New York club scene they frequented while making their initial records.
He added that his time in hospital had shaped the group's music.
"I experienced strange recollections when I was in and out of hospital because I was on pain medication," he explained to a publication.
"The new songs are a electronic representation of the noises in my head from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the times me and Marc had in the 1980s."
The final mixes were completed only days before Ball passed away. It is due for release in the spring of 2026.
