The talented musician, a key member of the pioneering 1980s synth-pop band Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the pair achieved a global success with their version of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a seminal work of electronic music.
He later founded the pioneering electronic act The Grid, who achieved popular acclaim with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball died calmly in his rest at his home in London on Wednesday 22 October, just weeks after performing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in the Thames-side town.
Recent Health Challenges
At that performance, Ball appeared in a mobility chair, as he had for the last two years, following a spate of ill-health.
"I managed to damage myself significantly," he stated in 2023. "I fractured spinal bones in my back and cracked about multiple ribs and broke my wrist."
After contracting pneumonia and suffering from blood poisoning, he was placed in an medically-induced sleep and stayed in the hospital for seven months.
Nevertheless, he had been in "a great place mentally" over the warmer months, as he was developing a fresh record with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is scheduled for release next year.
"He was focused and very pleased with the new album that we literally completed only a short time ago," said the singer in a heartfelt message.
"It's so sad as next year was all set to be such an uplifting year for him, and I find comfort from the fact that he heard the completed album and believed that it was a great piece of work."
Tributes
Almond described his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant musical genius", 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 aspect of my life and for the music you created with me. I wouldn't be where I am without you."
Richard Norris from The Grid, also paid tribute, remembering Ball's "constant humor" and "unwavering friendship".
"Forming a partnership with someone is different from joining a band, the connection is very tight," he continued.
"That's how it was with us. We went through so many remarkable, extraordinary, memorable experiences as a team. Many thanks, Dave."
Formative Years
Brought into the world into a one-parent family in Chester in 1959, Ball was given up for adoption when he was a year and a half old.
He grew up in the seaside town with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his given name from his birth name to his adopted name, together with his younger sister Susan, who was similarly welcomed.
He encountered Almond at an art college in the late 70s, where they were both studying art. Fuelled by a shared love of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and promptly recorded an EP.
Creative Collaboration
The duo were an distinctive combination: Ball was the quiet musician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all sparkle and makeup; but they attained a rare creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with electronic instruments after viewing the band Kraftwerk perform on a television program Tomorrow's World, and began to marry dark electronica to the catchy tunes Almond was composing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling single of the early 80s, shifting 21 million units worldwide. Alongside hits by other artists, Human League and Ultravox, it helped cleared the way for the synth-pop sound of the 80s.
The song was also featured on their full-length debut, their initial LP, which produced two further top five hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the album up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which peaked at the second position in 1982.
Career Highlights
Fame had its benefits. "I loved being able to afford my first home, having money and travelling, which might seem like a beauty queen," Ball recently told with a music magazine.
But it also caused challenges. "Sudden riches meant we could purchase newfound drugs to alleviate the boredom" of press appearances and television shows, Ball explained.
"I know that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a good reason, because it applies for so many musicians."
During the hedonistic lifestyle, the pair were also drifting apart, but they succeeded to produce a follow-up memorable record - the unconventional, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out one more album, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the band to concentrate on individual endeavors.
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 mixed acid house with melodic sounds 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 hiatus, they reappeared in 2018, issuing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was supposed to be a final performance at the large venue on September 30, 2018.
Yet, they remained active, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic restrictions.
Ball lately described the duo's upcoming release as a homage to the NYC nightlife they frequented while making their first two albums.
He added that his time in hospital had influenced the band's sound.
"I had strange recollections when I was in and out of the hospital because I was on morphine," he told a publication.
"The new songs are a digital reflection of the noises in my mind from that time.
"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences me and Marc had in the 80s."
The last versions were finished only a short time before Ball passed away. It is due for release in Spring 2026.
