The talented musician, one half of the innovative 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Together with vocalist Marc Almond, the pair scored a global success 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 electronic music.
He subsequently formed the innovative electronic act The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with 1994's Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his sleep at his home 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 wheelchair, as he had for the last two years, after a period of ill-health.
"I managed to damage myself quite a bit," he commented in 2023. "I broke spinal bones in my back and cracked about five ribs and fractured my arm."
Following catching pneumonia and developing blood poisoning, he was placed in an medically-induced sleep and stayed in the hospital for half a year.
Nevertheless, he had been in "high spirits emotionally" over the warmer months, as he was developing a new album with Almond, called Danceteria, which is scheduled for release next year.
"He was focused and very pleased with the new album that we literally finished only a few days ago," stated the singer 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 heard the completed album and believed that it was a great piece of work."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond referred to his collaborator as "an exceptionally talented musical genius", adding: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our legacy.
"Many thanks Dave for being an immense part of my existence and for the music you gave me. I wouldn't be where I am without you."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, also paid tribute, remembering Ball's "constant humor" and "steadfast support".
"Forming a partnership with someone is distinct from being in a band, the bond is incredibly close," he added.
"That's how it was with us. We experienced so many extraordinary, incredible, memorable experiences together. Many thanks, Dave."
Formative Years
Born into a single-parent household in Chester in the late 50s, Ball was given up for adoption when he was 18 months old.
He grew up in Blackpool with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his first name from his birth name to his adopted name, alongside his younger sister his sister, who was also adopted.
He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both learning art. Fuelled by a shared love of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the very year, and quickly produced an EP.
Creative Collaboration
The duo were an unusual pairing: Ball was the reserved technician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a charismatic showman, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they attained a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had developed a interest with synthesizers after viewing the band Kraftwerk perform on a television program a popular series, and began to marry moody electronic sounds to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second biggest-selling single of the early 80s, selling millions of units globally. Together with hits by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it helped cleared the path for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The song was also featured on their full-length debut, their initial LP, which spawned two further top five hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the record up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at number two in 1982.
Career Highlights
Success had its benefits. "I enjoyed being able to purchase my first home, having money and exploring, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball recently shared with a music magazine.
But it also presented challenges. "Newfound wealth allowed we could afford newfound drugs to alleviate the boredom" of media interviews and television shows, Ball said.
"I know that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a valid cause, because it works for so many musicians."
During the hedonistic lifestyle, the duo were also growing distant, but they managed to produce a follow-up classic album - the unconventional, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out another LP, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the group to focus on other projects.
Almond went on to have a prosperous individual path, including the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who combined dance music with ambient pop over a long-lasting partnership.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, producing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following another break, they returned in recent years, issuing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was supposed to be a final performance at the O2 Arena on September 30, that year.
Yet, they stayed together, recording their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.
Ball recently described the band's upcoming release as a tribute to the NYC nightlife they visited while recording their initial records.
He noted that his period in medical care 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 music magazine.
"The new songs are a electronic representation of the sounds in my mind from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the times we got up to in the 80s."
The final mixes were completed only days before Ball passed away. It is due for release in the spring of 2026.
