The talented musician, one half of the pioneering 1980s synth-pop duo Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the team scored a global success with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a seminal work of synth-pop.
He subsequently formed the innovative electronic act The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with their 1994 single Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully in his sleep at his home in London on Wednesday 22 October, only a short time after performing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in Henley-on-Thames.
Recent Health Challenges
During that show, Ball appeared in a mobility chair, as he had for the previous couple of years, after a spate of ill-health.
"I ended up damage myself quite a bit," he stated in 2023. "I fractured spinal bones in my back and cracked about five ribs and fractured my wrist."
Following catching a lung infection and suffering from sepsis, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and stayed in hospital for half a year.
However, he had been in "a great place emotionally" during the summer, as he worked on a new album with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is set for release next year.
"He was focused and very pleased with the latest project that we literally finished only a short time ago," said the vocalist in a tribute.
"It's so sad as next year was completely planned to be such an uplifting year for him, and I take some solace from the fact that he listened to the finished record and felt that it was a great piece of work."
Tributes
Almond described his collaborator as "an exceptionally talented creative mastermind", adding: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our body of work.
"Many thanks Dave for being an significant aspect of my life and for the songs you gave me. I wouldn't be where I am without you."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, shared his condolences, remembering Ball's "endless laughter" and "steadfast support".
"Forming a duo with someone is different from joining a band, the connection is incredibly close," he continued.
"That was the case with us. We went through so many remarkable, incredible, memorable experiences as a team. Thank you, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a single-parent household in Chester in 1959, Ball was given up for adoption when he was a year and a half of age.
He was raised in the seaside town with his new family Donald and Brenda Ball, who altered his given name from his birth name to David, together with his sibling his sister, who was similarly welcomed.
He met Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both studying art. Fuelled by a shared love of Northern Soul, they established Soft Cell the very year, and quickly produced an extended play.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an distinctive pairing: Ball was the reserved technician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all glitter and makeup; but they attained a rare creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with synthesizers after watching the band Kraftwerk perform on a television program a popular series, and started to marry moody electronic sounds to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling song of 1981, shifting 21 million units worldwide. Together with successful tracks by Gary Numan, Human League and electronic acts, it helped cleared the path for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The song was also included on their full-length debut, their initial LP, which produced two additional top five hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the album up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which peaked at number two in 1982.
Professional Journey
Success had its benefits. "I enjoyed being able to afford my initial property, having money and exploring, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball not long ago told with a publication.
But it also caused problems. "Newfound wealth meant we could purchase substances to alleviate the monotony" of media interviews and television shows, Ball said.
"I realize that's a common saying, but it's a truism for a valid cause, because it works for so many bands."
During the party-filled existence, the pair were also growing distant, but they succeeded to create a second classic album - the unconventional, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out one more LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the band to focus on other projects.
Almond proceeded to have a prosperous solo career, including the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who mixed acid house with melodic sounds over a long-lasting collaboration.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell reunited in 2001, producing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following another break, they returned in recent years, releasing 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 30 September, that year.
Yet, they remained active, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.
Ball recently described the duo's upcoming release as a tribute to the New York club scene they visited while recording their first two albums.
He noted that his period in hospital had shaped the group's music.
"I experienced unusual memories when I was coming and going of the hospital because I was on morphine," he explained to a music magazine.
"The new songs are a digital reflection of the sounds in my mind from that time.
"In parallel, it's about the experiences we had in the 1980s."
The last versions were completed only a short time before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for release in the spring of 2026.
