The talented musician, one half of the innovative 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Together with vocalist Marc Almond, the team achieved a global success with their version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their debut album their initial full-length release is regarded as a classic of electronic music.
He later formed the pioneering electronic act The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball died 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 Festival in the Thames-side town.
Recent Health Challenges
During that performance, Ball performed in a mobility chair, as he had for the last two years, after a spate of health issues.
"I managed to damage myself significantly," he commented in a recent interview. "I fractured spinal bones in my back and fractured about five ribs and fractured my wrist."
After contracting a lung infection and suffering from blood poisoning, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and stayed in hospital for seven months.
Nevertheless, he had been in "a great place mentally" during the warmer months, as he worked on a new album with Almond, called the upcoming Danceteria, which is set for publication in the coming year.
"He was focused and so happy with the latest project that we literally completed only a few days ago," said the singer in a heartfelt message.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was completely planned to be such an positive year for him, and I take some solace from the knowledge that he heard the finished record and felt that it was a great piece of work."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond described 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 aspect of my life and for the music you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without you."
Richard Norris from The Grid, also paid tribute, recalling Ball's "endless laughter" and "unwavering friendship".
"Forming a partnership with someone is different from being in a band, the connection is very tight," he added.
"That's how it was with us. We went through so many remarkable, extraordinary, life-affirming moments as a team. Many thanks, 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 18 months of age.
He was raised in Blackpool with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his given name from Paul to David, together with his sibling Susan, who was similarly welcomed.
He met Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in the late 70s, where they were both learning fine arts. Fuelled by a mutual passion of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the very year, and promptly produced an EP.
Creative Collaboration
The pair were an distinctive pairing: Ball was the reserved technician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant showman, all glitter and makeup; but they attained a rare creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with electronic instruments after watching Kraftwerk perform on a television science show a popular series, and began to marry moody electronic sounds to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second most popular song of the early 80s, shifting millions of copies globally. Alongside successful tracks by other artists, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it helped paved the path for the synth-pop sound of the 80s.
The track was also included on their full-length debut, their initial LP, which produced two additional top five singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the record up with the separate release, Torch, which peaked at the second position in 1982.
Career Highlights
Success had its upsides. "I loved being able to afford my initial property, having money and exploring, which might seem like a beauty queen," Ball recently told with a publication.
But it also presented problems. "Newfound wealth meant we could afford substances to alleviate the boredom" of media interviews and television shows, Ball explained.
"I know that's a cliché, 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 managed to produce a second memorable record - the wayward, tense and aptly-titled 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 prosperous solo career, including the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who mixed dance music with melodic sounds over a long-lasting partnership.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell came back together in the early 2000s, producing the charting album Cruelty Without Beauty.
After another break, they returned in 2018, 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 large venue on September 30, 2018.
However, they stayed together, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.
Ball lately characterized the duo's new album as a tribute to the NYC nightlife they visited while recording their initial records.
He noted that his period in medical care had influenced the group's music.
"I experienced strange recollections when I was in and out of the hospital because I was on morphine," he told a publication.
"The new songs are a electronic representation of the noises in my head from those days.
"In parallel, it's about the experiences we got up to in the 1980s."
The final mixes were finished only days before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for release in the spring of 2026.
