The talented musician, a key member of the innovative 1980s synth-pop band Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Alongside vocalist Marc Almond, the team achieved a worldwide hit with their version of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in 1984, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a classic of electronic music.
He subsequently founded the innovative electronic act The Grid, who achieved chart success with their 1994 single Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his sleep at his home in London on Wednesday 22 October, just weeks after playing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in the Thames-side town.
Health Struggles
During that performance, Ball appeared in a wheelchair, as he had for the last two years, following a spate of ill-health.
"I managed to injure myself quite a bit," he commented in 2023. "I broke spinal bones in my spine and fractured about five ribs and fractured my arm."
After contracting a lung infection and developing sepsis, he was placed in an induced coma and remained in hospital for half a year.
Nevertheless, he had been in "high spirits emotionally" during the summer, as he was developing a fresh record with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication in the coming year.
"He was focused and so happy with the latest project that we actually finished only a few days ago," said the vocalist in a tribute.
"It's so sad as next year was completely planned to be such an positive time for him, and I find comfort from the knowledge that he listened to the finished record and felt that it was a great piece of work."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond referred to his collaborator as "an exceptionally talented creative mastermind", adding: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our legacy.
"Thank you Dave for being an immense aspect of my existence and for the music you gave me. I wouldn't be where I am without your influence."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, shared his condolences, remembering Ball's "constant humor" and "unwavering friendship".
"Being in a partnership with someone is distinct from joining a group, the connection is very tight," he continued.
"That was the case with us. We experienced so many extraordinary, extraordinary, memorable moments as a team. Many thanks, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a single-parent household in Chester in the late 50s, Ball was put up for adoption when he was a year and a half old.
He was raised in the seaside town with adoptive parents his caregivers, who altered his first name from his birth name to David, alongside his younger sister his sister, who was similarly welcomed.
He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in the late 70s, where they were both learning fine arts. Fuelled by a shared love of Northern Soul, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and promptly produced an extended play.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an distinctive combination: Ball was the quiet technician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they achieved a rare musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with synthesizers after watching Kraftwerk perform on BBC program Tomorrow's World, and started to combine moody electronic sounds to the catchy tunes Almond was composing.
Their signature song became the UK's second most popular single of the early 80s, selling millions of copies worldwide. Together with hits by Gary Numan, Human League and Ultravox, it contributed to paved the path for the synth-pop sound of the 80s.
The song was also included on their full-length debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which spawned two further top five hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the record up with the separate release, Torch, which peaked at the second position in 1982.
Professional Journey
Success had its benefits. "I enjoyed being able to purchase my initial property, having financial security and travelling, which might seem like a beauty queen," Ball recently told with a publication.
But it also caused challenges. "Sudden riches meant we could afford newfound drugs to alleviate the boredom" of press appearances and television shows, Ball explained.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a valid cause, because it works for so many musicians."
During the party-filled existence, the pair were also growing distant, but they managed to produce a follow-up classic album - the unconventional, edgy and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released another album, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band to concentrate on individual endeavors.
Almond went on 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 mixed dance music with ambient pop over a long-lasting collaboration.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, producing the charting record Cruelty Without Beauty.
After a further hiatus, they returned in recent years, issuing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was supposed to be a farewell show at the O2 Arena on September 30, 2018.
Yet, they stayed active, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.
Ball recently characterized the duo's new album as a homage to the New York club scene they frequented while making their initial records.
He noted that his time in hospital had influenced the group's music.
"I had unusual memories when I was coming and going 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 those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences me and Marc got up to in the 80s."
The final mixes were finished only days before Ball died. It is due for launch in the spring of 2026.
