The talented musician, a key member of the innovative 1980s synth-pop band Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Together with vocalist Marc Almond, the duo scored a global success with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in 1984, and their debut album their initial full-length release is regarded as a seminal work of electronic music.
He later formed the pioneering electronic act The Grid, who achieved popular acclaim with 1994's Swamp Thing.
Ball died peacefully in his sleep at his residence in London on October 22, only a short time after playing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in Henley-on-Thames.
Health Struggles
At that performance, Ball appeared in a mobility chair, as he had for the previous couple of years, after a spate of ill-health.
"I ended up damage myself significantly," he stated in a recent interview. "I fractured spinal bones in my back and fractured about five ribs and broke my arm."
Following catching a lung infection and developing sepsis, he was placed in an induced coma and stayed in the hospital for half a year.
However, he had been in "high spirits emotionally" over the summer, as he worked on a new album with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication next year.
"He was concentrated and very pleased with the latest project that we literally finished only a short time ago," said the vocalist in a heartfelt message.
"It's so sad as next year was all set to be such an uplifting time for him, and I find comfort from the knowledge that he heard the completed album and believed that it was a great piece of work."
Tributes
Almond referred to his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", adding: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our legacy.
"Thank you Dave for being an significant aspect of my life and for the songs you gave me. I wouldn't be where I am without your influence."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, shared his condolences, recalling Ball's "endless laughter" and "unwavering friendship".
"Being in a duo with someone is distinct from joining a group, the connection is very tight," he continued.
"That was the case with us. We went through so many extraordinary, extraordinary, memorable moments together. Thank you, Dave."
Formative Years
Brought into the world into a single-parent household in Chester in the late 50s, Ball was given up for adoption when he was a year and a half old.
He grew up in Blackpool with his new family his caregivers, who changed his given name from his birth name to David, together with his younger sister his sister, who was similarly welcomed.
He met Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in the late 70s, where they were both studying art. Inspired by a mutual passion of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the very year, and promptly produced an extended play.
Creative Collaboration
The pair 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 unique creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with electronic instruments after viewing Kraftwerk perform on BBC science show Tomorrow's World, and started to marry moody electronic sounds to the catchy tunes Almond was composing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second most popular single of 1981, shifting millions of units globally. Together with successful tracks by Gary Numan, Human League and Ultravox, it helped paved the way for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.
The song was also featured on their first album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which produced two further high-charting hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the album up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which reached at the second position in the following year.
Professional Journey
Fame had its benefits. "I enjoyed being able to purchase my initial property, having money and travelling, which might seem like a beauty queen," Ball recently told with a publication.
But it also presented problems. "Sudden riches meant we could purchase newfound drugs to alleviate the monotony" of media interviews and TV performances, Ball explained.
"I know that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a valid cause, because it applies for so many musicians."
Amidst the party-filled existence, the duo were also growing distant, but they managed to produce a follow-up classic album - the unconventional, edgy and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released another LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band to concentrate on individual endeavors.
Almond proceeded to have a successful solo career, featuring the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who combined acid house with ambient pop over a enduring collaboration.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, producing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following a further break, they returned in 2018, issuing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was supposed to be a farewell show at the large venue on 30 September, that year.
Yet, they remained active, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic restrictions.
Ball lately characterized the band's upcoming release as a tribute to the New York club scene they frequented while making their first two albums.
He added that his period in hospital had influenced the band's sound.
"I had unusual memories when I was in and out of hospital because I was on pain medication," he told a music magazine.
"The new songs are a electronic representation of the sounds in my head from those days.
"In parallel, it's about the times me and Marc had in the 1980s."
The final mixes were finished only days before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for launch in the spring of 2026.
