The talented musician, a key member of the groundbreaking 1980s synth-pop band Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Together with singer Marc Almond, the duo achieved a global success with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a seminal work of electronic music.
He subsequently founded the innovative electronic act The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with their 1994 single Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his rest at his home 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
During that performance, Ball performed in a wheelchair, as he had for the previous couple of years, after a spate of ill-health.
"I managed to injure myself quite a bit," he commented in 2023. "I broke lower vertebrae in my spine and fractured about five ribs and fractured my wrist."
After contracting pneumonia and developing blood poisoning, he was put in an induced coma and stayed in the hospital for seven months.
Nevertheless, he had been in "high spirits mentally" over the summer, as he was developing a fresh record with Almond, titled the upcoming Danceteria, which is set for release next year.
"He was focused and so happy with the latest project that we actually completed only a few days ago," said the singer in a tribute.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was completely planned to be such an uplifting time for him, and I take some solace from the fact that he heard the finished record and felt that it was a masterpiece."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond described his collaborator as "an exceptionally talented creative mastermind", adding: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our legacy.
"Many thanks Dave for being an immense aspect of my life and for the songs you gave me. I couldn't be where I am without you."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, shared his condolences, 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 continued.
"That's how it was with us. We experienced so many extraordinary, extraordinary, memorable experiences together. Many thanks, Dave."
Formative Years
Brought into the world into a single-parent household in the city of Chester in 1959, Ball was given up for adoption when he was 18 months old.
He grew up in the seaside town with his new family his caregivers, who changed his first name from Paul to David, together with his younger sister Susan, who was similarly welcomed.
He met Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in the late 70s, where they were both studying fine arts. Fuelled by a shared love of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the same year, and quickly recorded an EP.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an unusual combination: Ball was the reserved musician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all sparkle and makeup; but they achieved a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had developed a interest with electronic instruments after watching the band Kraftwerk appear on a television program Tomorrow's World, and started to combine moody electronic sounds to the catchy tunes Almond was composing.
Their signature song became the United Kingdom's second most popular song of 1981, selling millions of copies globally. Together with successful tracks by other artists, Human League and Ultravox, it helped paved the path for the synth-pop sound of the 80s.
The track was also featured on their full-length debut, their initial LP, which produced two additional high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the record up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which reached at the second position in the following year.
Professional Journey
Success had its benefits. "I loved being able to afford my initial property, having financial security and travelling, which makes me sound like a Miss World," Ball recently shared with a music magazine.
But it also presented problems. "Newfound wealth allowed we could purchase newfound drugs to alleviate the boredom" of media interviews and TV performances, Ball said.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a valid cause, because it works for so many musicians."
During the hedonistic lifestyle, the duo were also growing distant, but they managed to create a follow-up memorable record - the wayward, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released one more album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the band to concentrate on other projects.
Almond proceeded to have a successful solo career, including the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who combined dance music with melodic sounds over a enduring collaboration.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell came back together in the early 2000s, releasing the Top 40 album Cruelty Without Beauty.
After another hiatus, they returned in 2018, issuing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was intended to be a farewell show at the O2 Arena on September 30, 2018.
However, they remained active, recording their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.
Ball lately described the band's new album as a tribute to the New York club scene they frequented while making their initial records.
He noted that his time in medical care had shaped the band's sound.
"I had strange recollections when I was in and out of hospital because I was on morphine," he told a music magazine.
"The new songs are a electronic representation of the noises in my mind from that time.
"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences me and Marc had in the 1980s."
The last versions were completed only a short time before Ball died. It is due for launch in the spring of 2026.
