The talented musician, one half of the innovative 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Together with singer Marc Almond, the team achieved a global success with their version of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in 1984, and their first record their initial full-length release is regarded as a classic of electronic music.
He later founded the pioneering techno group The Grid, who achieved chart success with their 1994 single Swamp Thing.
Ball died peacefully in his rest at his residence in London on Wednesday 22 October, just weeks after playing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in Henley-on-Thames.
Recent Health Challenges
At that performance, Ball performed in a wheelchair, as he had for the previous couple of years, following a period of health issues.
"I managed to injure myself significantly," he stated in 2023. "I fractured spinal bones in my back and cracked about multiple ribs and fractured my arm."
Following contracting pneumonia and developing blood poisoning, he was placed in an medically-induced sleep and stayed in the hospital for seven months.
However, he had been in "a great place emotionally" over the summer, as he was developing a new album with Almond, called Danceteria, which is set for release in the coming year.
"He was focused and so happy with the new album that we actually completed only a short time ago," said the vocalist in a tribute.
"It's so sad as next year was completely planned to be such an positive year for him, and I find comfort from the knowledge that he listened to the completed album and believed that it was a masterpiece."
Tributes
Almond described his bandmate as "a wonderfully brilliant musical genius", adding: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our legacy.
"Thank you Dave for being an significant aspect of my existence and for the songs you created with me. I wouldn't be where I am without you."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, shared his condolences, recalling Ball's "constant humor" and "steadfast support".
"Forming a partnership with someone is different from joining a band, the bond is very tight," he continued.
"That's how it was with us. We experienced so many remarkable, extraordinary, memorable experiences together. Many thanks, Dave."
Formative Years
Brought into the world into a one-parent family in the city of Chester in 1959, Ball was put up for adoption when he was 18 months old.
He was raised in Blackpool with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his given name from his birth name to David, alongside his younger sister Susan, who was similarly welcomed.
He encountered Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both studying fine arts. Fuelled by a shared love of Northern Soul, they formed Soft Cell the very year, and promptly recorded an extended play.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an distinctive pairing: Ball was the quiet musician, hunched over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant showman, all glitter and makeup; but they achieved a rare musical alchemy.
Ball had developed a interest with synthesizers after viewing Kraftwerk perform on BBC science show Tomorrow's World, and began to combine moody electronic sounds to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second most popular single of the early 80s, selling 21 million units globally. Alongside hits by other artists, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it contributed to paved the way for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.
The track was also included on their first album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which spawned two further high-charting hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the album up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at the second position in 1982.
Career Highlights
Success had its benefits. "I loved being able to afford my first home, having financial security and exploring, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball recently told with a music magazine.
But it also caused problems. "Sudden riches allowed we could purchase substances to relieve the monotony" of press appearances and TV performances, Ball said.
"I know that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a good reason, because it applies for so many musicians."
Amidst the party-filled existence, the duo were also growing distant, but they succeeded to produce a second memorable record - the unconventional, edgy and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released one more LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band to focus on other projects.
Almond proceeded to have a successful individual path, featuring the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who combined acid house with melodic sounds over a enduring collaboration.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell came back together in the early 2000s, releasing the charting record Cruelty Without Beauty.
After a further hiatus, they reappeared in 2018, releasing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was intended to be a farewell show at the O2 Arena on September 30, 2018.
Yet, they remained active, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.
Ball lately described the duo's new album as a tribute to the New York club scene they frequented while recording their initial records.
He noted that his period in medical care had shaped the band's sound.
"I experienced 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 digital reflection of the sounds in my head from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the times me and Marc got up to in the 1980s."
The last versions were finished only days before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for launch in the spring of 2026.
