The talented musician, one half of the pioneering 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Together with vocalist Marc Almond, the pair scored a worldwide hit with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in 1984, and their debut album their initial full-length release is regarded as a seminal work of synth-pop.
He later founded the pioneering techno group The Grid, who achieved chart success with 1994's Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his rest at his residence in London on October 22, only a short time after playing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in the Thames-side town.
Health Struggles
During that performance, Ball appeared in a mobility chair, as he had for the previous couple of years, after a period of ill-health.
"I managed to injure myself quite a bit," he commented in 2023. "I broke spinal bones in my spine and fractured about five ribs and broke my arm."
Following contracting a lung infection and suffering from sepsis, he was put in an induced coma and stayed in the hospital for half a year.
Nevertheless, he had been in "high spirits mentally" over the summer, as he was developing 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 completed only a short time ago," stated the vocalist in a heartfelt message.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was completely planned to be such an positive year for him, and I find comfort from the knowledge that he listened to the finished record and felt that it was a masterpiece."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond described his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", stating: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our legacy.
"Thank you 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 you."
Richard Norris from The Grid, also paid tribute, recalling Ball's "endless laughter" and "steadfast support".
"Forming a duo with someone is distinct from being in a group, the bond is very tight," he added.
"That's how it was with us. We went through so many remarkable, incredible, life-affirming experiences as a team. Many thanks, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a one-parent family in Chester in the late 50s, Ball was put up for adoption when he was 18 months of age.
He was raised in the seaside town with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his given name from his birth name to David, together with his younger sister Susan, who was similarly welcomed.
He met Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both studying fine arts. Inspired by a mutual passion of Northern Soul, they established Soft Cell the very year, and quickly produced an extended play.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an distinctive combination: Ball was the reserved technician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a charismatic showman, all glitter and eye-liner; but they attained a rare creative synergy.
Ball had developed a interest with electronic instruments after viewing Kraftwerk perform on a television science show Tomorrow's World, and started to marry moody electronic sounds to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.
Their signature song became the UK's second most popular single of the early 80s, shifting 21 million copies worldwide. Together with successful tracks by other artists, Human League and Ultravox, it helped cleared the path for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The track was also included on their first album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which spawned two further top five hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the album up with the separate release, Torch, which peaked at number two in 1982.
Career Highlights
Fame had its benefits. "I enjoyed being able to purchase my first home, having money and travelling, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball not long ago shared with a music magazine.
But it also presented problems. "Sudden riches meant we could purchase newfound drugs to alleviate the monotony" of media interviews and TV performances, Ball explained.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a good reason, because it applies for so many bands."
During the party-filled existence, the pair were also growing distant, but they managed to create a follow-up memorable record - the wayward, 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 band to concentrate on individual endeavors.
Almond proceeded to have a successful solo career, featuring the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who combined acid house with ambient pop over a enduring collaboration.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell came back together in the early 2000s, releasing the Top 40 album Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following a further break, they returned in recent years, issuing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was intended to be a farewell show at the large venue on September 30, 2018.
Yet, they stayed together, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic restrictions.
Ball lately described the duo's upcoming release as a tribute to the New York club scene they frequented while recording their initial records.
He added that his period in hospital had shaped the band's sound.
"I had strange recollections when I was coming and going of hospital because I was on pain medication," he explained to a publication.
"The new songs are a digital reflection of the noises in my head from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences me and Marc had in the 80s."
The last versions were finished only a short time before Ball died. It is scheduled for launch in Spring 2026.
