The talented musician, one half of the pioneering 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Together with singer Marc Almond, the duo scored a global success with their cover of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in 1984, and their debut album their initial full-length release is regarded as a classic of electronic music.
He subsequently founded the innovative electronic act The Grid, who secured chart success with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball died 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.
Recent Health Challenges
During that show, Ball performed in a wheelchair, 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 back and cracked about five ribs and broke my arm."
Following catching a lung infection and developing sepsis, he was placed in an medically-induced sleep and stayed in the hospital for seven months.
Nevertheless, he had been in "high spirits emotionally" during the summer, as he was developing a new album with Almond, called Danceteria, which is set for release next year.
"He was focused and so happy with the latest project that we literally finished only a few days ago," stated the singer in a tribute.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was all set to be such an positive year for him, and I find comfort from the knowledge that he heard the completed album and felt that it was a great piece of work."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond described his collaborator as "an exceptionally talented creative mastermind", stating: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our legacy.
"Thank you Dave for being an immense part of my life and for the music you created with me. I wouldn't be where I am without you."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, also paid tribute, remembering Ball's "constant humor" and "unwavering friendship".
"Forming a partnership with someone is different from being in a group, the connection is incredibly close," he continued.
"That was the case with us. We experienced so many extraordinary, extraordinary, memorable experiences together. Thank you, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a single-parent household in the city of Chester in 1959, 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 given name from his birth name to his adopted name, together with his sibling Susan, who was also adopted.
He met Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both studying art. Fuelled by a shared love of Northern Soul, they established Soft Cell the same year, and quickly produced an extended play.
Musical Partnership
The duo were an unusual combination: Ball was the quiet technician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant showman, all sparkle and makeup; but they achieved a rare creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with electronic instruments after watching Kraftwerk appear on a television science show a popular series, and started to combine moody electronic sounds to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second most popular single of the early 80s, selling 21 million units worldwide. Together with successful tracks by other artists, Human League and Ultravox, it contributed to paved the way for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The song was also included on their first album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which spawned two further high-charting hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the album up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at number two in the following year.
Professional Journey
Success had its benefits. "I enjoyed being able to purchase my initial property, having financial security and travelling, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball recently told with a publication.
But it also caused challenges. "Sudden riches allowed we could purchase newfound drugs to relieve the boredom" of media interviews and TV performances, Ball said.
"I realize that's a common saying, but it's a truism for a good reason, because it works for so many bands."
Amidst the party-filled existence, the duo were also growing distant, but they managed to create a second memorable record - the wayward, edgy and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released another album, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the group to focus on individual endeavors.
Almond went on to have a prosperous 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 ambient pop over a enduring partnership.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell reunited in 2001, releasing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following a further hiatus, they returned in recent years, issuing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was intended to be a final performance at the O2 Arena on September 30, that year.
However, they remained active, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.
Ball lately described the band's new album as a homage to the New York club scene they visited while making their initial records.
He noted that his time in hospital had influenced the group's music.
"I had strange recollections when I was coming and going of the hospital because I was on pain medication," he told a music magazine.
"The new songs are a digital reflection of the noises in my mind from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences me and Marc got up to in the 1980s."
The final mixes were finished only a short time before Ball passed away. It is due for release in Spring 2026.
