The talented musician, a key member of the groundbreaking 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Together with singer Marc Almond, the team achieved a global success with their version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in 1984, and their debut album their initial full-length release is considered a classic of electronic music.
He later founded the innovative techno group The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with 1994's Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his sleep at his residence in London on Wednesday 22 October, only a short time after playing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in Henley-on-Thames.
Recent Health Challenges
During that performance, Ball performed in a mobility chair, as he had for the previous couple of years, after a spate of health issues.
"I ended up damage myself quite a bit," he stated in 2023. "I broke lower vertebrae in my back and fractured about multiple ribs and fractured my arm."
After contracting pneumonia and suffering from sepsis, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and remained in hospital for half a year.
However, he had been in "a great place emotionally" over the warmer months, as he was developing a new album with Almond, titled the upcoming Danceteria, which is set for publication in the coming year.
"He was focused and so happy with the new album that we literally completed only a few days ago," said the vocalist in a tribute.
"It's so sad as next year was all set to be such an uplifting time for him, and I take some solace from the knowledge that he heard the finished record and believed that it was a masterpiece."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond referred to his bandmate as "a wonderfully brilliant musical genius", adding: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our body of work.
"Thank you Dave for being an immense part of my life 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 "endless laughter" and "unwavering friendship".
"Forming a partnership with someone is distinct from joining a group, the bond is incredibly close," he added.
"That was the case with us. We went through so many remarkable, extraordinary, memorable moments as a team. Many thanks, Dave."
Formative Years
Brought into the world into a single-parent household in Chester in 1959, Ball was put up for adoption when he was a year and a half old.
He grew up in the seaside town with adoptive parents his caregivers, who changed his first name from his birth name to David, alongside his younger sister Susan, who was similarly welcomed.
He encountered Almond at an art college in the late 70s, where they were both learning fine arts. Fuelled by a mutual passion of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the very year, and promptly recorded an extended play.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an unusual pairing: Ball was the quiet musician, hunched over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they achieved a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with synthesizers after watching Kraftwerk perform on a television program Tomorrow's World, and began to combine dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second most popular single of the early 80s, shifting millions of copies worldwide. Alongside hits by Gary Numan, Human League and Ultravox, it helped cleared the way for the synth-pop sound of the 80s.
The track was also featured on their first album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which produced two additional high-charting hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the album up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which reached at the second position in 1982.
Professional Journey
Fame had its benefits. "I enjoyed being able to afford my first home, having financial security and travelling, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball not long ago shared with a music magazine.
But it also caused problems. "Newfound wealth allowed we could purchase newfound drugs to relieve the boredom" of media interviews and television shows, Ball said.
"I realize that's a common saying, but it's a cliché for a valid cause, because it applies for so many bands."
Amidst the hedonistic lifestyle, the pair were also drifting apart, but they managed to create a follow-up classic album - the unconventional, edgy and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out another LP, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group to focus on individual endeavors.
Almond proceeded to have a prosperous solo career, including the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who mixed acid house with melodic sounds over a long-lasting partnership.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell came back together in the early 2000s, producing the Top 40 album Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following another hiatus, they returned in 2018, releasing the original singles 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, 2018.
However, they remained active, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.
Ball lately characterized the duo's upcoming release as a homage to the New York club scene they frequented while recording their first two albums.
He noted that his period in hospital had shaped the band's sound.
"I had unusual memories when I was in and out of the hospital because I was on morphine," he told a publication.
"The new songs are a digital reflection of the sounds in my mind from that time.
"In parallel, it's about the times me and Marc got up to in the 1980s."
The final mixes were finished only days before Ball passed away. It is due for release in Spring 2026.
