The talented musician, one half of the groundbreaking 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the team achieved a global success with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in 1984, and their first record their initial full-length release is regarded as a classic of electronic music.
He subsequently founded the innovative electronic act The Grid, who achieved chart success with their 1994 single Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully in his rest at his residence in London on Wednesday 22 October, only a short time after performing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in Henley-on-Thames.
Recent Health Challenges
At that performance, Ball performed in a mobility chair, as he had for the last two years, following a spate of ill-health.
"I ended up damage myself quite a bit," he commented in 2023. "I fractured spinal bones in my spine and cracked about five ribs and fractured my wrist."
Following catching a lung infection and suffering from sepsis, he was put in an induced coma and stayed in hospital for half a year.
However, he had been in "high spirits mentally" during the summer, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, called Danceteria, which is set for publication next year.
"He was focused and so happy with the latest project that we actually completed only a few days ago," said the vocalist in a heartfelt message.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was all set to be such an positive year for him, and I take some solace from the fact that he listened to the completed album and felt that it was a great piece of work."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond described his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", adding: "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 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 "endless laughter" and "steadfast support".
"Being in a partnership with someone is different from joining a band, the bond is very tight," he continued.
"That's how it was with us. We went through so many remarkable, incredible, memorable experiences as a team. Thank you, Dave."
Early Life
Born into a one-parent family 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 adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who altered his given name from Paul to David, together with his sibling his sister, who was also adopted.
He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both studying fine arts. Fuelled by a shared love of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the same year, and quickly recorded an extended play.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an unusual pairing: Ball was the quiet musician, hunched over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic showman, all sparkle and makeup; but they achieved a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with electronic instruments after viewing Kraftwerk appear on a television science show a popular series, and began to combine moody electronic sounds to the catchy tunes Almond was composing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second most popular song of 1981, selling millions of units globally. Together with successful tracks by other artists, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it contributed to cleared the way for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The song was also featured on their first album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which spawned two further high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the record up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which reached at the second position in the following year.
Professional Journey
Success had its upsides. "I enjoyed being able to afford my initial property, having financial security and exploring, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball not long ago shared with a publication.
But it also caused challenges. "Sudden riches allowed we could purchase newfound drugs to alleviate the boredom" of media interviews and TV performances, Ball said.
"I know that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a good reason, because it works for so many bands."
During the hedonistic lifestyle, the pair were also growing distant, but they managed to produce a second classic album - the wayward, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released another LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the band to concentrate on other projects.
Almond proceeded to have a successful solo career, including the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who mixed acid house with ambient pop over a long-lasting partnership.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell came back together in the early 2000s, releasing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.
After another break, they reappeared in 2018, issuing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was intended to be a final performance at the large venue on September 30, 2018.
However, they stayed together, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.
Ball recently described the band's upcoming release as a tribute to the NYC nightlife they frequented while recording their initial records.
He added that his period in hospital had shaped the band's sound.
"I had unusual memories when I was coming and going of the hospital because I was on pain medication," he told 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 got up to in the 80s."
The final mixes were completed only a short time before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for launch in Spring 2026.
