The talented musician, a key member of the groundbreaking 1980s synth-pop band Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Together with singer Marc Almond, the team scored a worldwide hit with their cover of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in 1984, and their first record their initial full-length release is considered a classic of electronic music.
He subsequently founded the innovative techno group The Grid, who secured chart success with 1994's Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his rest at his home in London on Wednesday 22 October, only a short time after performing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in Henley-on-Thames.
Health Struggles
At that performance, Ball performed in a mobility chair, as he had for the previous couple of years, after a spate of ill-health.
"I managed to damage myself significantly," he stated in 2023. "I broke lower vertebrae in my back and fractured about multiple ribs and broke my wrist."
Following contracting a lung infection and suffering from blood poisoning, he was placed in an medically-induced sleep and stayed in hospital for seven months.
However, he had been in "high spirits mentally" over the warmer months, as he worked on a new album with Almond, called the upcoming Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication next year.
"He was concentrated and so happy with the latest project that we literally completed only a short time ago," stated the vocalist in a tribute.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was completely planned to be such an positive 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."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond referred to his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", stating: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our body of work.
"Thank you Dave for being an immense aspect of my life and for the music you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without your influence."
Richard Norris from The Grid, also paid tribute, recalling Ball's "endless laughter" and "unwavering friendship".
"Being in a partnership with someone is different from being in a group, the connection is incredibly close," he added.
"That's how it was with us. We went through so many extraordinary, incredible, life-affirming moments together. Thank you, Dave."
Formative Years
Born into a one-parent family in Chester in 1959, Ball was given up for adoption when he was a year and a half of age.
He grew up in the seaside town with his new family Donald and Brenda Ball, who altered his first name from his birth name to David, alongside his younger sister Susan, who was similarly welcomed.
He met Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both learning fine arts. Inspired by a mutual passion of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the same year, and promptly produced an EP.
Creative Collaboration
The pair were an distinctive pairing: Ball was the quiet musician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant showman, all glitter and makeup; but they achieved a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had developed a fascination with electronic instruments after watching Kraftwerk perform on BBC program a popular series, and started to marry moody electronic sounds to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.
Their signature song became the United Kingdom's second most popular single of the early 80s, selling 21 million copies worldwide. Together with hits by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it helped paved the path for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.
The song was also included on their first album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which produced two further top five singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the record up with the separate release, Torch, which peaked at the second position in the following year.
Professional Journey
Fame had its upsides. "I loved being able to purchase my initial property, having money and travelling, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball recently shared with a music magazine.
But it also presented challenges. "Sudden riches meant we could afford newfound drugs to relieve the boredom" of media interviews and TV performances, Ball said.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a valid cause, because it applies for so many bands."
During the party-filled existence, the pair were also growing distant, but they succeeded to produce a follow-up classic album - the wayward, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released one more album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the band to focus on other projects.
Almond went on to have a prosperous solo career, 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 came back together in the early 2000s, releasing the Top 40 album Cruelty Without Beauty.
After another hiatus, they reappeared in 2018, issuing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was supposed to be a farewell show at the large venue on 30 September, 2018.
However, they remained together, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic restrictions.
Ball lately characterized the band's upcoming release as a tribute to the NYC nightlife they visited while recording their initial records.
He added 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 told a publication.
"The new songs are a digital reflection of the noises in my head from that time.
"In parallel, it's about the experiences we got up to in the 80s."
The final mixes were completed only days before Ball passed away. It is due for launch in the spring of 2026.
