The talented musician, a key member of the innovative 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Alongside vocalist 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 their initial full-length release is considered a seminal work of electronic music.
He subsequently founded the pioneering electronic act The Grid, who achieved popular acclaim with 1994's Swamp Thing.
Ball died peacefully in his rest at his residence in London on October 22, just weeks after playing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in Henley-on-Thames.
Recent Health Challenges
At 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 injure myself significantly," he commented in 2023. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my spine and fractured about five ribs and fractured my arm."
Following contracting pneumonia and suffering from sepsis, he was put in an induced coma and remained 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 release in the coming year.
"He was focused and so happy with the new album that we literally finished only a few days ago," said the singer in a tribute.
"It's truly heartbreaking 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 completed album and believed that it was a great piece of work."
Tributes
Almond referred to his bandmate as "an exceptionally talented musical genius", stating: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our legacy.
"Many thanks Dave for being an significant part of my life and for the songs you gave 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".
"Being in a duo with someone is different from joining a group, the connection is very tight," he added.
"That's how it was with us. We went through so many remarkable, extraordinary, life-affirming experiences together. Thank you, Dave."
Formative Years
Brought into the world into a single-parent household in the city of Chester in the late 50s, Ball was put up for adoption when he was a year and a half old.
He grew up in Blackpool with adoptive parents his caregivers, who changed his given name from Paul to David, alongside his younger sister 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 formed Soft Cell the very year, and quickly produced an extended play.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an distinctive combination: Ball was the quiet musician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all sparkle and makeup; but they attained a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with electronic instruments after watching Kraftwerk perform on a television science show a popular series, and began to combine moody electronic sounds to the catchy tunes Almond was composing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second most popular song of 1981, shifting 21 million units worldwide. Together with hits by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it contributed to cleared the path for the synth-pop sound of the 80s.
The track was also included on their first album, their initial LP, which produced two further high-charting hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the album up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which peaked at the second position in 1982.
Career Highlights
Success had its benefits. "I loved being able to purchase my first home, having money and travelling, which makes me sound like a Miss World," Ball recently told with a music magazine.
But it also caused challenges. "Newfound wealth allowed we could purchase newfound drugs to alleviate the monotony" of press appearances and television shows, Ball said.
"I know that's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a good reason, because it works for so many bands."
Amidst the hedonistic lifestyle, the pair were also drifting apart, but they succeeded to create a second memorable record - the unconventional, edgy and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out one more album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band to concentrate on individual endeavors.
Almond proceeded to have a prosperous solo career, featuring the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who combined acid house with ambient pop over a enduring collaboration.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell came back together in 2001, producing the Top 40 record 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 intended to be a farewell show at the large venue on 30 September, that year.
Yet, they stayed active, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.
Ball lately characterized the band's upcoming release as a tribute to the NYC nightlife they visited while making their initial records.
He added that his period in hospital had influenced the band's sound.
"I had strange recollections when I was coming and going of hospital because I was on morphine," he explained to a publication.
"Our latest tracks are a digital reflection of the sounds in my mind from those days.
"In parallel, it's about the experiences me and Marc got up to in the 1980s."
The final mixes were finished only days before Ball died. It is due for launch in the spring of 2026.
