The talented musician, one half of the innovative 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Together with vocalist Marc Almond, the team achieved a worldwide hit with their version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in 1984, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a classic of electronic music.
He later formed the pioneering techno group The Grid, who secured chart success with their 1994 single the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball died peacefully in his sleep at his home in London on Wednesday 22 October, just weeks after playing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in Henley-on-Thames.
Health Struggles
At that show, Ball appeared in a mobility chair, as he had for the last two years, after a period of ill-health.
"I ended up injure myself significantly," he stated in a recent interview. "I broke lower vertebrae in my back and fractured about five ribs and fractured my arm."
After contracting pneumonia and suffering from blood poisoning, he was placed in an medically-induced sleep and remained in the hospital for half a year.
However, he had been in "high spirits emotionally" over the warmer months, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication next year.
"He was focused and very pleased with the new album that we literally completed only a short time ago," said the singer in a tribute.
"It's so sad as next year was all set to be such an uplifting year 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 described his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant 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 aspect of my life and for the songs you created with me. I wouldn't be where I am without your influence."
Richard Norris from The Grid, shared his condolences, remembering Ball's "constant humor" and "steadfast support".
"Being in a partnership with someone is different from joining a band, the connection is incredibly close," he added.
"That was the case with us. We went through so many remarkable, incredible, life-affirming experiences together. Thank you, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a one-parent family in the city of Chester in 1959, Ball was put up for adoption when he was a year and a half of age.
He grew up in the seaside town with his new family his caregivers, who altered his first name from his birth name to his adopted name, alongside his sibling his sister, who was also adopted.
He encountered Almond at an art college in the late 70s, where they were both studying art. Inspired by a mutual passion of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and quickly recorded an EP.
Musical Partnership
The duo were an unusual pairing: Ball was the reserved technician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a charismatic showman, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they achieved a unique creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with electronic instruments after viewing Kraftwerk appear on a television program a popular series, and began to marry moody electronic sounds to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.
Their signature song became the UK's second most popular single of 1981, shifting millions of units globally. Together with successful tracks by Gary Numan, Human League and Ultravox, it helped paved the way for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The track was also featured on their first album, their initial LP, which spawned two further high-charting hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the record up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which peaked at the second position in 1982.
Career Highlights
Success had its benefits. "I enjoyed being able to afford my initial property, having financial security and travelling, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball recently told with a music magazine.
But it also presented challenges. "Newfound wealth meant we could purchase newfound drugs to alleviate the monotony" of press appearances and television shows, Ball said.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a good reason, because it works for so many bands."
Amidst the hedonistic lifestyle, the duo were also growing distant, but they succeeded to create a follow-up memorable record - the wayward, edgy and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out one more album, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band to concentrate on individual endeavors.
Almond went on to have a prosperous individual path, featuring the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who mixed dance music with ambient pop over a enduring partnership.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell came back together in 2001, producing the charting album Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following a further hiatus, they returned in recent years, releasing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was supposed to be a final performance at the O2 Arena on September 30, 2018.
However, they stayed together, recording their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.
Ball recently characterized the duo's upcoming release as a tribute to the NYC nightlife they visited while making their first two albums.
He added that his time in hospital had shaped the group's music.
"I had strange recollections when I was coming and going of hospital because I was on pain medication," he explained to a publication.
"Our latest tracks 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 days before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for release in the spring of 2026.
