The talented musician, one half of the innovative 1980s synth-pop duo Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Together with singer Marc Almond, the duo achieved a worldwide hit with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a seminal work of electronic music.
He later founded the pioneering techno group The Grid, who achieved chart success with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his rest at his residence in London on Wednesday 22 October, only a short time after performing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in Henley-on-Thames.
Health Struggles
During that performance, Ball appeared in a mobility chair, as he had for the previous couple of years, following a spate of health issues.
"I managed to injure myself quite a bit," he stated in 2023. "I broke spinal bones in my back and fractured about five ribs and fractured my wrist."
After contracting a lung infection and suffering from blood poisoning, he was put in an induced coma and remained in hospital for half a year.
Nevertheless, he had been in "a great place mentally" over the summer, as he worked on a new album with Almond, called Danceteria, which is set for publication in the coming year.
"He was concentrated and so happy with the new album that we actually completed only a few days ago," stated the vocalist in a heartfelt message.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was completely planned to be such an positive year for him, and I find comfort from the fact that he heard the completed album and felt that it was a masterpiece."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond described his collaborator as "an exceptionally talented creative mastermind", stating: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our legacy.
"Thank you Dave for being an significant part of my existence 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".
"Forming a partnership with someone is distinct from joining a band, the bond is very tight," he added.
"That was the case with us. We experienced so many extraordinary, extraordinary, memorable moments as a team. Many thanks, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a one-parent family in Chester in the late 50s, 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 changed his first name from his birth name to his adopted name, together with his sibling Susan, who was also adopted.
He met Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both learning fine arts. Fuelled by a mutual passion of Northern Soul, they established Soft Cell the same year, and quickly recorded an EP.
Creative Collaboration
The pair were an distinctive combination: Ball was the reserved musician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all sparkle and makeup; but they attained a rare creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with electronic instruments after viewing Kraftwerk perform on a television program a popular series, and began to marry moody electronic sounds to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second biggest-selling song of 1981, shifting millions of copies globally. Alongside hits by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it contributed to cleared the path for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.
The track was also featured on their first album, their initial LP, which spawned two further top five hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the record up with the separate release, Torch, which peaked at the second position in 1982.
Professional Journey
Fame had its upsides. "I enjoyed being able to purchase my first home, having money and travelling, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball recently told with a music magazine.
But it also presented challenges. "Sudden riches meant we could purchase substances to relieve the monotony" of media interviews and TV performances, Ball said.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a good reason, because it applies for so many musicians."
Amidst the party-filled existence, the pair were also growing distant, but they managed to produce a follow-up classic album - the wayward, edgy and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released another album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group to concentrate on individual endeavors.
Almond proceeded to have a successful 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 melodic sounds over a enduring partnership.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell reunited in 2001, releasing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.
After another break, they reappeared in recent years, releasing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was supposed to be a final performance at the O2 Arena on 30 September, 2018.
Yet, they remained active, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.
Ball recently described the duo's upcoming release as a homage to the NYC nightlife they frequented while recording their first two albums.
He noted that his time in medical care had shaped the group's music.
"I had strange recollections when I was coming and going of the hospital because I was on pain medication," he told a music magazine.
"Our latest tracks are a digital reflection of the sounds in my head from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences we had in the 1980s."
The last versions were finished only days before Ball died. It is due for launch in Spring 2026.
