The talented musician, a key member of the innovative 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Together with vocalist Marc Almond, the duo scored a worldwide hit with their version of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a seminal work of electronic music.
He later formed the innovative electronic act The Grid, who achieved popular acclaim with their 1994 single Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully in his sleep at his residence in London on Wednesday 22 October, just weeks after performing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in Henley-on-Thames.
Health Struggles
At that performance, Ball performed in a wheelchair, as he had for the last two years, after a period of ill-health.
"I managed to injure myself quite a bit," he stated in 2023. "I broke spinal bones in my back and cracked about five ribs and fractured my arm."
Following contracting pneumonia and developing sepsis, he was put in an induced coma and stayed in the hospital for seven months.
Nevertheless, he had been in "a great place mentally" over the summer, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, called the upcoming Danceteria, which is set for publication in the coming year.
"He was focused and so happy with the latest project that we literally completed only a short time ago," stated 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 take some solace from the fact that he heard the finished record and believed that it was a masterpiece."
Tributes
Almond described his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", stating: "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 life 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".
"Being in a duo with someone is different from being in a band, the bond is very tight," he continued.
"That's how it was with us. We experienced so many extraordinary, extraordinary, life-affirming experiences together. Many thanks, Dave."
Early Life
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 a year and a half of age.
He was raised in the seaside town with adoptive parents his caregivers, who altered his given name from his birth name to his adopted name, together with his younger sister Susan, who was similarly welcomed.
He met Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in the late 70s, where they were both studying fine arts. Inspired by a shared love of Northern Soul, they established Soft Cell the very year, and quickly recorded an EP.
Creative Collaboration
The pair were an distinctive pairing: Ball was the quiet technician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they achieved a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with synthesizers after viewing Kraftwerk appear on BBC program Tomorrow's World, and started to marry dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.
Their signature song became the United Kingdom's second most popular single of the early 80s, selling millions of copies globally. Alongside successful tracks by Gary Numan, Human League and electronic acts, it helped paved the way for the electronic music style of the 80s.
The track was also included on their full-length debut, their initial LP, which spawned two further top five hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the album up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which peaked at the second position in 1982.
Professional Journey
Fame had its benefits. "I loved being able to purchase my initial property, having money and travelling, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball not long ago shared with a music magazine.
But it also caused problems. "Sudden riches allowed we could purchase newfound drugs to relieve the boredom" of press appearances and TV performances, Ball said.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a valid cause, because it works for so many musicians."
Amidst the party-filled existence, the pair were also growing distant, but they managed to create a follow-up memorable record - the wayward, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out one more album, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the band to focus on individual endeavors.
Almond went on to have a successful individual path, including the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who combined acid house with melodic sounds over a enduring collaboration.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, producing the charting record Cruelty Without Beauty.
After another break, they returned in 2018, 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 large venue on September 30, that year.
Yet, they remained active, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic restrictions.
Ball recently described the duo's upcoming release as a homage to the New York club scene they frequented while making their initial records.
He added that his time in medical care had influenced the band's sound.
"I experienced strange recollections when I was coming and going of the hospital because I was on morphine," he explained to a music magazine.
"Our latest tracks are a electronic representation of the sounds in my mind from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences we had in the 80s."
The final mixes were finished only days before Ball died. It is due for release in Spring 2026.
