The talented musician, one half of the groundbreaking 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Together with singer Marc Almond, the duo scored a global success with their version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in 1984, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a classic of synth-pop.
He later formed the pioneering electronic act The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with 1994's Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully in his sleep at his home in London on Wednesday 22 October, only a short time after performing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in the Thames-side town.
Health Struggles
During that show, Ball performed in a wheelchair, as he had for the last two years, after a spate of ill-health.
"I managed to injure myself significantly," he commented in 2023. "I broke lower vertebrae in my spine and fractured about multiple ribs and fractured my arm."
After contracting pneumonia and suffering from sepsis, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and remained in hospital for seven months.
However, he had been in "high spirits emotionally" during the warmer months, as he worked on a new album with Almond, called Danceteria, which is set for publication next year.
"He was focused and very pleased with the new album that we actually completed only a short time ago," said the vocalist in a tribute.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was all set to be such an positive time for him, and I find comfort from the knowledge that he listened to the finished record and felt that it was a great piece of work."
Tributes
Almond referred to his bandmate as "a wonderfully brilliant 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 aspect of my life and for the music you created with 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 "unwavering friendship".
"Forming a partnership with someone is different from being in a band, the bond is very tight," he continued.
"That was the case with us. We went through so many remarkable, 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 a year and a half of age.
He grew up in Blackpool with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who altered his first name from his birth name to his adopted name, together with his sibling Susan, who was also adopted.
He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in the late 70s, where they were both studying fine arts. Fuelled by a shared love of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and quickly recorded an extended play.
Creative Collaboration
The duo were an unusual pairing: Ball was the reserved technician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all glitter and eye-liner; but they attained a rare musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with synthesizers after watching the band Kraftwerk appear on BBC science show Tomorrow's World, and began to combine dark electronica to the catchy tunes Almond was composing.
Their signature song became the UK's second most popular single of 1981, shifting millions of units worldwide. Alongside hits by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it helped paved the path for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The track was also included on their full-length debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which spawned two further high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the album up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which peaked at number two in 1982.
Career Highlights
Success had its benefits. "I enjoyed being able to purchase my first home, having money and exploring, which might seem like a beauty queen," Ball recently shared with a music magazine.
But it also presented problems. "Sudden riches meant we could afford substances to alleviate the boredom" of media interviews and television shows, Ball said.
"I know that's a common saying, but it's a truism for a valid cause, because it works for so many musicians."
Amidst the party-filled existence, the pair were also growing distant, but they succeeded to produce a follow-up memorable record - the unconventional, edgy and fittingly named 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 individual endeavors.
Almond proceeded to have a prosperous individual path, including the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who mixed acid house with ambient pop over a long-lasting collaboration.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell reunited in 2001, releasing the charting record Cruelty Without Beauty.
After a further hiatus, they returned in 2018, issuing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was supposed to be a farewell show at the O2 Arena on 30 September, 2018.
However, they stayed together, recording their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.
Ball recently characterized the duo's new album as a tribute to the New York club scene they frequented while recording their first two albums.
He added that his period in hospital had shaped the band's sound.
"I had unusual memories when I was coming and going of the hospital because I was on morphine," he explained to a music magazine.
"Our latest tracks are a digital reflection of the sounds in my head from that time.
"Simultaneously, it's about the times me and Marc had in the 1980s."
The last versions were finished only a short time before Ball passed away. It is due for release in Spring 2026.
