The talented musician, one half of the innovative 1980s synth-pop band Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Together with singer Marc Almond, the pair scored a global success 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 electronic music.
He subsequently founded the innovative techno group The Grid, who secured chart success with 1994's Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly 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 Festival in Henley-on-Thames.
Recent Health Challenges
During that performance, Ball performed in a mobility chair, as he had for the last two years, following a period of ill-health.
"I ended up injure myself quite a bit," he stated in a recent interview. "I broke lower vertebrae in my back and cracked about multiple ribs and fractured my wrist."
Following contracting a lung infection and developing blood poisoning, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and stayed in the hospital for half a year.
However, he had been in "high spirits mentally" over the warmer months, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication next year.
"He was concentrated and so happy with the latest project that we actually completed only a short time ago," stated the singer in a heartfelt message.
"It's so sad as next year was completely planned to be such an uplifting year for him, and I take some solace from the fact that he heard the finished record and felt that it was a masterpiece."
Tributes
Almond referred to his bandmate as "an exceptionally talented musical genius", stating: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our body of work.
"Thank you Dave for being an immense aspect of my existence and for the songs you created with me. I wouldn't be where I am without your influence."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, shared his condolences, remembering Ball's "constant humor" and "steadfast support".
"Forming a duo with someone is different from joining a band, the connection is very tight," he added.
"That was the case with us. We went through so many extraordinary, extraordinary, life-affirming experiences as a team. Thank you, Dave."
Formative Years
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 a year and a half old.
He grew up in the seaside town with his new family Donald and Brenda Ball, who altered his given name from Paul to David, alongside his sibling his sister, who was also adopted.
He met Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both studying fine arts. Fuelled by a mutual passion of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the very year, and promptly recorded an EP.
Musical Partnership
The duo were an unusual combination: Ball was the reserved technician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all glitter and eye-liner; but they attained a rare musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with electronic instruments after viewing the band Kraftwerk appear on a television program Tomorrow's World, and started to combine moody electronic sounds to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second biggest-selling song of 1981, shifting 21 million copies globally. Alongside hits by other artists, Human League and electronic acts, it helped paved the path for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.
The track was also included on their first album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which spawned two additional top five singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the record up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at the second position in 1982.
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 shared with a publication.
But it also caused challenges. "Newfound wealth meant we could purchase newfound drugs to alleviate the boredom" of media interviews and TV performances, Ball said.
"I know that's a common saying, 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 managed to create a follow-up memorable record - the unconventional, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released another LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band to focus on individual endeavors.
Almond went on to have a successful individual path, featuring 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 enduring collaboration.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell came back together in the early 2000s, releasing the Top 40 album Cruelty Without Beauty.
After a further hiatus, they reappeared in 2018, issuing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was supposed to be a farewell show at the O2 Arena on September 30, 2018.
Yet, they stayed active, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.
Ball recently characterized the band's new album as a tribute to the New York club scene they visited while making their initial records.
He added that his period in hospital had shaped the group's music.
"I had unusual memories when I was coming and going of the hospital because I was on pain medication," he explained to a publication.
"The new songs are a electronic representation of the sounds in my head from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences we had in the 1980s."
The last versions were completed only a short time before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for launch in Spring 2026.
