The talented musician, one half of the pioneering 1980s synth-pop band Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the team achieved a worldwide hit with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in 1984, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a seminal work of synth-pop.
He subsequently founded the pioneering electronic act The Grid, who achieved popular acclaim with their 1994 single Swamp Thing.
Ball died peacefully in his rest at his residence in London on October 22, only a short time after performing a featured performance 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 broke spinal bones in my spine and cracked about five ribs and fractured my arm."
After contracting pneumonia and developing sepsis, 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 was developing a fresh record with Almond, called Danceteria, which is set for release in the coming year.
"He was focused and so happy with the latest project that we literally completed only a short time ago," stated the singer 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 listened to the completed album and believed that it was a masterpiece."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond described his bandmate as "a wonderfully brilliant musical genius", adding: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our body of work.
"Many thanks Dave for being an immense part of my life and for the music you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without you."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, also paid tribute, recalling Ball's "constant humor" and "steadfast support".
"Being in a duo with someone is different from being in 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 as a team. Thank you, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a one-parent family in Chester in 1959, Ball was put up for adoption when he was a year and a half of age.
He was raised in Blackpool with his new family his caregivers, who altered his first name from his birth name to David, together with his younger sister his sister, who was also adopted.
He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both learning art. Inspired by a mutual passion of Northern Soul, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and promptly recorded an EP.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an distinctive combination: Ball was the reserved musician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic showman, all glitter and makeup; but they attained a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had developed a fascination with synthesizers after watching the band Kraftwerk appear on a television science show Tomorrow's World, and started to combine dark electronica to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second biggest-selling single of 1981, shifting 21 million copies globally. Alongside successful tracks by Gary Numan, Human League and Ultravox, it helped cleared the way for the synth-pop sound of the 80s.
The song was also featured on their first album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which spawned two further top five singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the album up with the separate release, Torch, which peaked at number two in the following year.
Career Highlights
Success had its upsides. "I enjoyed being able to afford my initial property, having money and exploring, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball not long ago shared with a music magazine.
But it also presented challenges. "Newfound wealth allowed we could afford substances to alleviate the boredom" of press appearances and TV performances, Ball explained.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a valid cause, because it applies for so many bands."
During the party-filled existence, the duo were also growing distant, but they managed to create a follow-up memorable record - the unconventional, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released one more LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band to concentrate on other projects.
Almond proceeded to have a prosperous individual path, featuring the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who mixed dance music with melodic sounds over a long-lasting collaboration.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell came back together in the early 2000s, releasing the charting album Cruelty Without Beauty.
After another break, they returned in recent years, releasing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was intended to be a final performance at the large venue on 30 September, that year.
However, they remained active, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.
Ball recently characterized the duo's upcoming release as a homage to the New York club scene they frequented while making their initial records.
He added that his time in medical care had influenced the group's music.
"I experienced strange recollections when I was in and out of hospital because I was on morphine," he explained to a music magazine.
"Our latest tracks are a electronic representation of the noises in my head from that time.
"In parallel, it's about the experiences we got up to in the 1980s."
The last versions were finished only days before Ball passed away. It is due for launch in the spring of 2026.
