The talented musician, a key member of the groundbreaking 1980s synth-pop duo Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the duo scored a global success with their version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in 1984, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a classic of electronic music.
He later founded the innovative techno group The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with 1994's Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his sleep at his home in London on Wednesday 22 October, just weeks after performing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in Henley-on-Thames.
Recent Health Challenges
During that performance, Ball performed in a wheelchair, as he had for the last two years, after a period of ill-health.
"I ended up injure myself significantly," he commented in 2023. "I fractured spinal bones in my back and fractured about multiple ribs and broke my arm."
After catching a lung infection and suffering from sepsis, he was placed in an induced coma and remained in the hospital for half a year.
However, he had been in "high spirits mentally" during the summer, as he worked on a new album with Almond, titled the upcoming Danceteria, which is set for release next year.
"He was focused and very pleased with the new album that we literally completed only a short time ago," stated the vocalist in a heartfelt message.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was all set to be such an uplifting year for him, and I find comfort from the fact that he listened to the completed album and believed that it was a great piece of work."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond described his collaborator as "an exceptionally talented musical genius", adding: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our body of work.
"Many thanks 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 your influence."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, shared his condolences, recalling Ball's "constant humor" and "unwavering friendship".
"Being in a partnership with someone is different from joining a band, the bond is incredibly close," he continued.
"That was the case with us. We experienced so many remarkable, incredible, life-affirming experiences together. Many thanks, Dave."
Formative Years
Brought into the world into a single-parent household in the city of Chester in the late 50s, Ball was put up for adoption when he was 18 months of age.
He grew up in the seaside town with his new family his caregivers, who altered his first name from his birth name to David, together with his younger sister his sister, who was also adopted.
He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both learning fine arts. Inspired by a shared love of Northern Soul, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and promptly recorded an EP.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an distinctive combination: Ball was the quiet musician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic showman, all sparkle and makeup; but they attained a rare creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with synthesizers after viewing Kraftwerk perform on a television program a popular series, and began to combine moody electronic sounds to the catchy tunes Almond was composing.
Their signature song became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling song of 1981, shifting 21 million copies globally. Together with successful tracks by Gary Numan, Human League and Ultravox, it contributed to 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 spawned two additional high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the record up with the separate release, Torch, which peaked at number two 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 Miss World," Ball not long ago shared with a music magazine.
But it also caused challenges. "Newfound wealth meant we could afford substances to alleviate the monotony" of media interviews and television shows, Ball said.
"I know that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a valid cause, because it applies for so many bands."
During the hedonistic lifestyle, the pair were also growing distant, but they succeeded to create a second memorable record - the unconventional, edgy and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out one more album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group to concentrate on other projects.
Almond went on to have a successful individual path, including the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who mixed dance music with ambient pop over a enduring collaboration.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell came back together in 2001, producing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following another hiatus, they returned in 2018, releasing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was supposed to be a farewell show at the large venue on September 30, that year.
Yet, they remained together, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.
Ball recently characterized the band's new album as a homage to the NYC nightlife they visited while recording their first two albums.
He added that his period in medical care had shaped the band's sound.
"I experienced strange recollections when I was in and out of the hospital because I was on morphine," he explained to a music magazine.
"The new songs are a electronic representation of the sounds in my head from that time.
"In parallel, it's about the times we got up to in the 1980s."
The final mixes were finished only a short time before Ball died. It is due for release in the spring of 2026.
