The talented musician, one half of the pioneering 1980s synth-pop duo Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Alongside vocalist Marc Almond, the duo scored a worldwide hit with their cover 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 innovative techno group The Grid, who achieved popular acclaim with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully in his rest at his home in London on October 22, only a short time after performing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in the Thames-side town.
Health Struggles
At that show, Ball performed in a mobility chair, as he had for the previous couple of years, following a period of ill-health.
"I ended up damage myself quite a bit," he commented in a recent interview. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my spine and fractured about five ribs and fractured my wrist."
After catching pneumonia and developing blood poisoning, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and stayed in the hospital for seven months.
However, he had been in "a great place mentally" during the summer, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, titled the upcoming Danceteria, which is set for release in the coming year.
"He was focused and so happy with the new album that we literally completed only a few days ago," stated the vocalist in a heartfelt message.
"It's so sad as next year was completely planned to be such an positive year for him, and I find comfort from the fact that he listened to the completed album and believed that it was a masterpiece."
Tributes
Almond referred to his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", stating: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our legacy.
"Thank you Dave for being an significant part 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, also paid tribute, remembering Ball's "constant humor" and "steadfast support".
"Forming a partnership with someone is distinct from being in a band, the connection is very tight," he continued.
"That was the case with us. We went through so many extraordinary, incredible, life-affirming moments together. Many thanks, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a single-parent household in the city of Chester in the late 50s, Ball was put up for adoption when he was a year and a half old.
He grew up in the seaside town with adoptive parents his caregivers, who changed his given name from his birth name to his adopted name, alongside his sibling his sister, who was also adopted.
He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both studying art. Inspired by a mutual passion of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the same year, and quickly recorded an EP.
Creative Collaboration
The pair were an unusual combination: Ball was the reserved musician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic showman, all glitter and eye-liner; but they attained a rare musical alchemy.
Ball had developed a fascination with electronic instruments after watching the band Kraftwerk appear on a television science show Tomorrow's World, and started to combine moody electronic sounds to the catchy tunes Almond was composing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second most popular single of 1981, selling 21 million copies globally. Together with successful tracks by other artists, Human League and Ultravox, it helped paved the path for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The song was also featured on their full-length debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which produced two additional top five singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the album up with the separate release, Torch, which peaked at number two in 1982.
Career Highlights
Fame had its benefits. "I loved being able to purchase my first home, having financial security and travelling, which might seem like a beauty queen," Ball recently shared with a music magazine.
But it also presented challenges. "Sudden riches meant we could purchase newfound drugs to relieve the monotony" of media interviews and television shows, Ball said.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a good reason, because it applies for so many bands."
Amidst the party-filled existence, the pair were also drifting apart, but they succeeded to create a second classic album - the unconventional, edgy and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released one more LP, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band to focus on other projects.
Almond went on to have a successful individual path, including the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who mixed dance music with ambient pop over a enduring collaboration.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell came back together in the early 2000s, producing the charting record Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following a further break, they returned 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 large venue on 30 September, that year.
However, they stayed together, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.
Ball lately characterized the band's new album as a tribute to the New York club scene they visited while making their initial records.
He noted that his time in hospital 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 electronic representation of the noises in my head from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences we got up to in the 1980s."
The last versions were completed only days before Ball died. It is scheduled for release in the spring of 2026.
