The talented musician, a key member of the groundbreaking 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the pair scored a worldwide hit with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a classic of synth-pop.
He subsequently founded the pioneering techno group The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with their 1994 single the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball died calmly in his sleep at his residence in London on October 22, just weeks after playing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in Henley-on-Thames.
Recent Health Challenges
During that show, Ball appeared in a wheelchair, as he had for the previous couple of years, after a spate of health issues.
"I managed to damage myself significantly," he commented in a recent interview. "I broke spinal bones in my spine and cracked about multiple ribs and fractured my arm."
After contracting a lung infection and suffering from blood poisoning, he was placed in an induced coma and remained in the hospital for seven months.
Nevertheless, he had been in "a great place mentally" over the summer, as he worked on a new album with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is set for publication next year.
"He was concentrated and so happy with the latest project that we actually completed only a few days ago," said the vocalist in a tribute.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was all set to be such an positive time for him, and I take some solace from the knowledge that he heard the completed album and felt that it was a great piece of work."
Tributes
Almond referred to his bandmate as "a wonderfully brilliant musical genius", stating: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our body of work.
"Thank you Dave for being an significant aspect of my life and for the music you created with me. I wouldn't be where I am without you."
Richard Norris from The Grid, shared his condolences, recalling Ball's "endless laughter" and "steadfast support".
"Being in a duo with someone is different from being in a band, the bond is incredibly close," he added.
"That's how it was with us. We experienced so many remarkable, extraordinary, memorable moments together. Many thanks, Dave."
Early Life
Born into a single-parent household in Chester in the late 50s, Ball was put up for adoption when he was 18 months old.
He was raised in Blackpool with adoptive parents his caregivers, who changed his first name from his birth name to David, alongside his sibling his sister, who was similarly welcomed.
He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in the late 70s, where they were both learning art. Inspired by a mutual passion of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the very year, and promptly produced an extended play.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an distinctive pairing: Ball was the quiet technician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all glitter and makeup; but they achieved a rare musical alchemy.
Ball had developed a fascination with electronic instruments after viewing the band Kraftwerk appear on BBC science show a popular series, and began to combine moody electronic sounds to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second biggest-selling single of the early 80s, shifting 21 million units globally. Together with hits by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it helped cleared the way for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.
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 followed the record up with the separate release, Torch, which peaked at number two in the following year.
Professional Journey
Fame had its benefits. "I loved being able to afford my initial property, having money and travelling, which makes me sound like a Miss World," Ball recently shared with a music magazine.
But it also caused problems. "Newfound wealth allowed we could purchase newfound drugs to relieve the boredom" of press appearances and TV performances, Ball explained.
"I know that's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a good reason, because it applies for so many musicians."
Amidst the party-filled existence, the pair were also drifting apart, but they managed to produce a follow-up classic album - the wayward, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out one more album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band to concentrate on other projects.
Almond went on to have a successful solo career, 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 long-lasting collaboration.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell came back together in the early 2000s, producing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.
After another hiatus, they returned in recent years, releasing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was supposed to be a farewell show at the O2 Arena on 30 September, that year.
However, they stayed together, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.
Ball recently characterized the duo's new album as a tribute to the New York club scene they frequented while recording their first two albums.
He added that his period in medical care had influenced the band's sound.
"I experienced strange recollections when I was coming and going of hospital because I was on pain medication," he told a publication.
"The new songs are a digital reflection of the sounds in my mind from that time.
"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences me and Marc had in the 1980s."
The last versions were finished only days before Ball died. It is scheduled for launch in Spring 2026.
