The talented musician, a key member of the groundbreaking 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Alongside vocalist Marc Almond, the duo scored a global success with their cover of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their debut album their initial full-length release is regarded as a classic of electronic music.
He subsequently founded the pioneering techno group 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 October 22, only a short time after playing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in the Thames-side town.
Health Struggles
During that show, Ball appeared 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 broke spinal bones in my spine and cracked about five ribs and fractured my wrist."
Following catching a lung infection and developing blood poisoning, he was put in an induced coma and remained in the hospital for seven months.
Nevertheless, he had been in "high spirits emotionally" during the summer, as he was developing a new album with Almond, titled the upcoming Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication next year.
"He was focused and very pleased with the new album that we literally completed only a few days ago," stated the singer in a tribute.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was all set to be such an positive year for him, and I find comfort from the knowledge that he heard the finished record and felt that it was a great piece of work."
Tributes
Almond described his bandmate as "a wonderfully brilliant musical genius", adding: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our legacy.
"Many thanks 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, also paid tribute, recalling Ball's "endless laughter" and "unwavering friendship".
"Being in a duo with someone is distinct from being in a band, the connection is very tight," he continued.
"That was the case with us. We experienced so many remarkable, extraordinary, memorable experiences 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 was raised in the seaside town with his new family Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his first name from his birth name to David, together with his sibling Susan, who was also adopted.
He encountered Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both learning art. Inspired by a mutual passion of Northern Soul, they established Soft Cell the very year, and promptly produced an extended play.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an unusual pairing: Ball was the reserved technician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all glitter and eye-liner; but they attained a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had developed a fascination with synthesizers after viewing the band Kraftwerk appear on a television science show Tomorrow's World, and started to marry dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second most popular song of the early 80s, selling 21 million units worldwide. Together with successful tracks by other artists, Human League and Ultravox, it helped cleared the path for the electronic music style of the 80s.
The track was also included on their full-length debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which spawned two further high-charting hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the record up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at number two in the following year.
Career Highlights
Fame had its upsides. "I loved being able to afford my initial property, having money and travelling, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball not long ago told with a publication.
But it also caused problems. "Newfound wealth allowed we could purchase newfound drugs to relieve 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 managed to produce a follow-up classic album - the wayward, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released one more album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group to focus on individual endeavors.
Almond went on to have a successful solo career, featuring the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who combined dance music with melodic sounds over a long-lasting collaboration.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell reunited in 2001, producing the Top 40 album Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following another hiatus, they returned in recent years, issuing 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, that year.
Yet, they stayed active, recording their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.
Ball recently characterized the band's upcoming release as a tribute to the New York club scene they frequented while recording their first two albums.
He added that his period in hospital had influenced the band's sound.
"I experienced unusual memories when I was in and out of hospital because I was on pain medication," he told a publication.
"The new songs are a electronic representation of the sounds in my mind from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences me and Marc had in the 1980s."
The final mixes were finished only a short time before Ball passed away. It is due for release in Spring 2026.
