The talented musician, one half of the groundbreaking 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the pair scored a global success with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record their initial full-length release is regarded as a classic of electronic music.
He subsequently formed the pioneering techno group The Grid, who achieved chart success with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully in his sleep at his residence in London on Wednesday 22 October, just weeks after playing a headline show 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 previous couple of years, following a period of health issues.
"I ended up damage myself quite a bit," he commented in 2023. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my spine and fractured about five ribs and fractured my arm."
Following contracting pneumonia and developing blood poisoning, he was put in an induced coma and stayed in hospital for half a year.
However, he had been in "high spirits emotionally" over the summer, as he was developing a fresh record with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is scheduled for release in the coming year.
"He was focused and very pleased with the latest project that we actually completed only a few days ago," stated the singer in a tribute.
"It's so sad as next year was all set to be such an uplifting time for him, and I find comfort from the fact that he heard the finished record and believed that it was a great piece of work."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond described his bandmate as "an exceptionally talented musical genius", adding: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our body of work.
"Thank you Dave for being an significant part of my life and for the songs you gave me. I wouldn't be where I am without your influence."
Richard Norris from The Grid, shared his condolences, recalling Ball's "constant humor" and "steadfast support".
"Being in a partnership with someone is different from joining a band, the bond is incredibly close," he added.
"That was the case with us. We experienced so many extraordinary, incredible, life-affirming moments together. Many thanks, Dave."
Early Life
Born into a one-parent family in Chester in 1959, Ball was put up for adoption when he was a year and a half of age.
He was raised in Blackpool with adoptive parents his caregivers, who changed his given name from Paul to David, together with his younger sister Susan, who was similarly welcomed.
He encountered Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both learning art. Fuelled by a shared love of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the very year, and quickly produced an extended play.
Musical Partnership
The duo were an unusual pairing: Ball was the reserved technician, hunched over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic showman, all glitter and makeup; but they attained a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had developed a fascination with synthesizers after watching Kraftwerk perform on a television program a popular series, and started to combine dark electronica to the catchy tunes Almond was composing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second most popular song of the early 80s, selling 21 million copies globally. Alongside successful tracks by other artists, Human League and Ultravox, it contributed to paved the way for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.
The song was also included on their first album, their initial LP, which produced two further top five singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the album up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at number two in the following year.
Career Highlights
Success had its upsides. "I loved being able to purchase my initial property, having money and travelling, which might seem like a beauty queen," Ball recently told with a music magazine.
But it also presented problems. "Sudden riches meant we could purchase newfound drugs to relieve the boredom" of press appearances and television shows, Ball said.
"I know that's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a valid cause, because it applies for so many bands."
During the party-filled existence, the duo were also drifting apart, but they managed to create 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 concentrate on other projects.
Almond went on to have a prosperous solo career, including the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who mixed dance music with melodic sounds over a enduring collaboration.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell reunited in 2001, producing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following a further 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 farewell show at the O2 Arena on 30 September, that year.
Yet, they remained active, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.
Ball recently described the duo's upcoming release as a homage to the NYC nightlife they frequented while recording their initial records.
He noted that his period in hospital had shaped the group's music.
"I had strange recollections 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 noises in my head from those days.
"In parallel, it's about the experiences me and Marc had in the 80s."
The final mixes were finished only days before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for launch in the spring of 2026.
