The talented musician, a key member of the pioneering 1980s synth-pop duo Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Together with vocalist Marc Almond, the duo achieved a global success with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a seminal work of synth-pop.
He later founded the pioneering electronic act The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with their 1994 single Swamp Thing.
Ball died peacefully in his sleep at his residence in London on Wednesday 22 October, 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 performance, Ball appeared in a wheelchair, as he had for the last two years, after a period of ill-health.
"I ended up injure myself significantly," he commented in 2023. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my back and cracked about five ribs and fractured my wrist."
Following contracting pneumonia and suffering from blood poisoning, he was put in an induced coma and stayed in the hospital for seven months.
However, he had been in "high spirits mentally" over the warmer months, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is scheduled for release in the coming year.
"He was focused and so happy with the new album that we literally finished only a short time ago," said the vocalist in a tribute.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was completely planned to be such an uplifting year for him, and I find comfort from the knowledge that he heard the completed album and felt that it was a masterpiece."
Tributes
Almond described his bandmate as "an exceptionally talented creative mastermind", stating: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our body of work.
"Many thanks Dave for being an significant aspect of my existence and for the music you gave me. I wouldn't be where I am without you."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, also paid tribute, remembering Ball's "endless laughter" and "unwavering friendship".
"Forming a partnership with someone is different from being in a band, the bond is very tight," he added.
"That's how it was with us. We experienced so many extraordinary, extraordinary, memorable experiences as a team. Many thanks, 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 was raised in the seaside town with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who altered his first name from his birth name to his adopted name, together with his sibling his sister, who was similarly welcomed.
He met Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both studying art. Inspired by a shared love of Northern Soul, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and promptly recorded an extended play.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an distinctive pairing: Ball was the quiet technician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all glitter and makeup; but they attained a rare musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with synthesizers after viewing the band Kraftwerk appear on a television program Tomorrow's World, and began to marry moody electronic sounds to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second most popular song of the early 80s, selling 21 million copies worldwide. Together with hits by Gary Numan, Human League and electronic acts, it contributed to cleared the way for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.
The track was also included on their full-length debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which produced two further top five singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the album up with the separate release, Torch, which peaked at the second position in 1982.
Career Highlights
Success had its benefits. "I loved being able to afford my first home, having money and travelling, which makes me sound like a Miss World," Ball recently shared with a publication.
But it also presented challenges. "Sudden riches meant we could afford newfound drugs to relieve the monotony" of media interviews and TV performances, Ball said.
"I know that's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a good reason, because it works for so many bands."
During the party-filled existence, the pair were also growing distant, but they managed to create a follow-up memorable record - the wayward, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released another album, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group to concentrate on other projects.
Almond proceeded to have a prosperous solo career, featuring 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 long-lasting collaboration.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell came back together in the early 2000s, producing the charting album Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following a further break, 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 remained together, recording their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.
Ball recently described the duo's upcoming release as a homage to the New York club scene they visited while recording their first two albums.
He noted that his time in medical care 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 sounds in my head from that time.
"In parallel, it's about the times me and Marc got up to in the 80s."
The final mixes were completed only days before Ball died. It is scheduled for launch in the spring of 2026.
