The talented musician, one half of the innovative 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Together with singer Marc Almond, the pair scored a global success with their version 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 later formed the pioneering techno group The Grid, who achieved chart success with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully in his rest at his home in London on Wednesday 22 October, just weeks after performing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in the Thames-side town.
Health Struggles
During that performance, Ball appeared in a wheelchair, as he had for the previous couple of years, following a spate of ill-health.
"I managed to damage myself significantly," he commented in 2023. "I fractured spinal bones in my back and fractured about five ribs and fractured my arm."
Following contracting a lung infection and suffering from blood poisoning, he was put in an induced coma and remained in hospital for seven months.
However, he had been in "high spirits emotionally" over the summer, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication next year.
"He was focused and very pleased with the new album that we actually finished only a short time ago," stated the vocalist in a tribute.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was all set to be such an positive time for him, and I find comfort from the fact that he listened to the completed album and felt that it was a great piece of work."
Tributes
Almond referred to his collaborator as "an exceptionally talented creative mastermind", adding: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our legacy.
"Many thanks Dave for being an immense aspect of my existence and for the songs you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without your influence."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, shared his condolences, recalling Ball's "endless laughter" and "unwavering friendship".
"Forming a partnership with someone is different from being in a band, the bond is very tight," he added.
"That was the case with us. We went through so many extraordinary, extraordinary, memorable experiences together. 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 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 his adopted name, together with his sibling Susan, who was also adopted.
He met Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in the late 70s, where they were both studying art. Inspired by a mutual passion of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and promptly recorded an extended play.
Creative Collaboration
The duo were an distinctive pairing: Ball was the reserved technician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic showman, all glitter and makeup; but they achieved a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with electronic instruments after watching Kraftwerk appear on a television science show Tomorrow's World, and began to combine dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.
Their signature song became the UK's second most popular song of the early 80s, shifting 21 million copies globally. Alongside hits by other artists, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it contributed to paved the path for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.
The song was also featured on their full-length debut, their initial LP, which spawned two further top five singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the record up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which reached at number two in the following year.
Career Highlights
Success had its benefits. "I loved being able to purchase my initial property, having money and travelling, which makes me sound like a Miss World," Ball not long ago shared with a publication.
But it also presented challenges. "Newfound wealth meant we could purchase newfound drugs to relieve the monotony" of media interviews and TV performances, Ball explained.
"I know that's a common saying, but it's a truism 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 produce a second classic album - the wayward, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released another LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group to focus on individual endeavors.
Almond went on to have a successful individual path, including the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who combined acid house with melodic sounds over a enduring partnership.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell reunited in 2001, releasing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following a further break, they reappeared in 2018, releasing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was intended to be a final performance at the large venue on September 30, that year.
Yet, they remained active, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.
Ball recently characterized the duo's upcoming release as a tribute to the NYC nightlife they visited while making their first two albums.
He noted that his period in medical care had influenced the band's sound.
"I had unusual memories when I was coming and going of hospital because I was on morphine," he told a publication.
"The new songs are a digital reflection of the sounds in my head from that time.
"Simultaneously, it's about the times we had in the 1980s."
The last versions were completed only days before Ball died. It is due for release in the spring of 2026.
