The talented musician, a key member of the innovative 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the duo achieved a global success with their version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a seminal work of synth-pop.
He later founded the pioneering electronic act The Grid, who secured chart success with their 1994 single Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his rest at his home in London on October 22, only a short time after playing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in the Thames-side town.
Health Struggles
At that show, Ball performed in a mobility chair, as he had for the previous couple of years, following a period of ill-health.
"I ended up injure myself quite a bit," he commented in a recent interview. "I fractured spinal bones in my back and fractured about five ribs and broke my wrist."
Following catching a lung infection and developing blood poisoning, he was placed in an medically-induced sleep and remained in hospital for half a year.
However, he had been in "a great place emotionally" over the warmer months, as he was developing a fresh record with Almond, titled the upcoming Danceteria, which is set for release in the coming year.
"He was focused and very pleased with the latest project that we literally finished only a short time ago," said the singer in a tribute.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was completely planned to be such an positive year for him, and I find comfort from the knowledge that he heard the finished record and felt that it was a masterpiece."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond described his collaborator as "an exceptionally talented creative mastermind", adding: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our body of work.
"Thank you Dave for being an significant aspect of my life and for the music you gave me. I couldn't be where I am without you."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, also paid tribute, remembering Ball's "endless laughter" and "steadfast support".
"Forming a duo with someone is distinct from being in a group, the bond is incredibly close," he continued.
"That was the case with us. We went through so many extraordinary, incredible, life-affirming moments as a team. Many thanks, Dave."
Formative Years
Brought into the world into a single-parent household in Chester in 1959, Ball was put up for adoption when he was 18 months old.
He grew up in Blackpool with adoptive parents his caregivers, who altered his given name from Paul to David, alongside his younger sister his sister, who was also adopted.
He encountered Almond at an art college in the late 70s, where they were both studying fine arts. Fuelled by a mutual passion of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the same year, and promptly produced an extended play.
Creative Collaboration
The duo were an distinctive combination: Ball was the reserved technician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant showman, all glitter and eye-liner; but they achieved a rare creative synergy.
Ball had developed a interest with synthesizers after watching the band Kraftwerk perform on BBC science show Tomorrow's World, and started to combine moody electronic sounds to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second most popular song of 1981, shifting 21 million copies globally. Alongside hits by other artists, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it helped cleared the path for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The track was also featured on their full-length debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which produced two further top five hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the record up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which peaked at the second position in 1982.
Career Highlights
Fame had its benefits. "I enjoyed being able to purchase my first home, having financial security and exploring, which makes me sound 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 monotony" of media interviews and television shows, Ball said.
"I know that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a good reason, because it applies for so many bands."
Amidst the hedonistic lifestyle, the duo were also growing distant, but they succeeded to create a follow-up classic album - the unconventional, edgy and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released one more LP, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the group to focus on other projects.
Almond went on to have a successful individual path, featuring the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who combined acid house with melodic sounds over a enduring partnership.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell reunited in 2001, producing the Top 40 album Cruelty Without Beauty.
After another break, they returned in recent years, issuing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was intended to be a farewell show at the O2 Arena on 30 September, 2018.
However, they remained together, recording their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.
Ball recently characterized the duo's upcoming release as a homage to the New York club scene they visited while making their first two albums.
He noted that his time in hospital had shaped the band's sound.
"I experienced strange recollections 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 digital reflection of the sounds in my head from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences me and Marc had in the 1980s."
The last versions were finished only days before Ball passed away. It is due for launch in the spring of 2026.
