The talented musician, one half of the pioneering 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the team achieved a worldwide hit with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in 1984, and their debut album their initial full-length release is considered a seminal work of electronic music.
He later founded the pioneering electronic act The Grid, who achieved chart success with their 1994 single the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his sleep at his residence in London on October 22, only a short time after performing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in Henley-on-Thames.
Health Struggles
At that show, Ball appeared in a mobility chair, as he had for the previous couple of years, after a period of ill-health.
"I ended up injure myself significantly," he commented in 2023. "I fractured spinal bones in my spine and fractured about multiple ribs and broke my arm."
After catching a lung infection and developing sepsis, he was put in an induced coma and remained in hospital for half a year.
Nevertheless, he had been in "a great place emotionally" during the warmer months, as he was developing a new album with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is scheduled for release next year.
"He was concentrated and very pleased with the latest project that we actually completed only a short time ago," said the singer in a heartfelt message.
"It's so sad as next year was completely planned to be such an positive time for him, and I take some solace from the knowledge that he listened to the finished record and felt that it was a masterpiece."
Tributes
Almond referred to his collaborator as "an exceptionally talented creative mastermind", stating: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our body of work.
"Many thanks Dave for being an significant aspect of my existence and for the music you created with me. I couldn'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".
"Forming a duo with someone is different from joining a band, the bond is incredibly close," he added.
"That's how it was with us. We went through so many extraordinary, extraordinary, life-affirming experiences as a team. Thank you, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a single-parent household in Chester in 1959, Ball was put up for adoption when he was a year and a half of age.
He was raised in Blackpool with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his given name from Paul to David, together with his sibling his sister, who was also adopted.
He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both studying art. Fuelled by a shared love of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the very year, and promptly recorded an EP.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an unusual pairing: Ball was the quiet musician, hunched over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they attained a rare musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with synthesizers after watching Kraftwerk perform on BBC science show a popular series, and began to combine dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second most popular song of the early 80s, shifting 21 million copies worldwide. Alongside successful tracks by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it contributed to paved the way for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The song was also included on their full-length debut, their initial LP, which produced two further high-charting 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.
Career Highlights
Success had its upsides. "I loved being able to afford my initial property, having money and travelling, which makes me sound like a Miss World," Ball recently told with a music magazine.
But it also caused problems. "Newfound wealth allowed we could purchase substances to relieve the boredom" of media interviews and television shows, Ball said.
"I know that's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a good reason, because it applies for so many bands."
During the hedonistic lifestyle, the pair were also drifting apart, but they succeeded to create a follow-up memorable record - the wayward, edgy and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out another album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the band to focus on other projects.
Almond went on to have a prosperous individual path, featuring the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who combined acid house with melodic sounds over a enduring partnership.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell reunited in 2001, releasing the charting record Cruelty Without Beauty.
After another break, they reappeared in recent years, issuing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was intended to be a farewell show at the large venue on September 30, that year.
However, they remained together, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic restrictions.
Ball recently characterized the duo's new album as a tribute to the New York club scene they visited while making their initial records.
He added that his period in medical care had shaped the band's sound.
"I experienced unusual memories when I was in and out of hospital because I was on pain medication," he explained to a publication.
"The new songs are a electronic representation of the sounds in my head from that time.
"Simultaneously, it's about the times me and Marc had in the 1980s."
The last versions were finished only days before Ball passed away. It is due for release in Spring 2026.
