The talented musician, one half of the groundbreaking 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the duo achieved a global success with their version of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record their initial full-length release is regarded as a seminal work of synth-pop.
He subsequently formed the pioneering techno group The Grid, who secured chart success with 1994's 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 featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in Henley-on-Thames.
Recent Health Challenges
At that show, Ball appeared in a wheelchair, as he had for the last two years, following a period of health issues.
"I ended up damage myself quite a bit," he commented in 2023. "I broke lower vertebrae in my spine and fractured about five ribs and broke my wrist."
Following catching a lung infection and developing blood poisoning, he was put in an induced coma and stayed in hospital for half a year.
Nevertheless, he had been in "high spirits emotionally" 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 literally completed only a short time ago," said the singer in a heartfelt message.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was completely planned to be such an uplifting time for him, and I take some solace from the knowledge that he heard the completed album and believed that it was a masterpiece."
Tributes
Almond referred to his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant musical genius", adding: "He was the core essence 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 music you gave me. I wouldn't be where I am without you."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, also paid tribute, recalling Ball's "endless laughter" and "steadfast support".
"Being in a duo with someone is different from joining a group, the connection is incredibly close," he added.
"That was the case with us. We experienced so many extraordinary, extraordinary, memorable experiences as a team. Many thanks, Dave."
Early Life
Born into a one-parent family in Chester in the late 50s, Ball was put up for adoption when he was a year and a half of age.
He was raised in Blackpool with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who altered his given name from Paul to David, together with his younger sister his sister, who was also adopted.
He met Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both learning art. Fuelled by a mutual passion of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the very year, and promptly recorded an extended play.
Musical Partnership
The duo were an unusual combination: Ball was the reserved musician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic showman, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they achieved a unique creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with electronic instruments after viewing the band Kraftwerk perform on BBC program Tomorrow's World, and began to marry dark electronica to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling single of the early 80s, shifting millions of units worldwide. Together with hits by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it contributed to paved the path for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.
The song was also included on their full-length debut, their initial LP, which spawned two further high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the record up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at number two in the following year.
Professional Journey
Fame had its benefits. "I loved being able to purchase my initial property, having money and travelling, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball not long ago shared with a music magazine.
But it also caused challenges. "Sudden riches allowed we could afford substances to alleviate the monotony" of press appearances and television shows, Ball explained.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a good reason, because it works for so many musicians."
Amidst the party-filled existence, the pair were also drifting apart, but they managed to create a second classic album - the unconventional, edgy and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released one more album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band to concentrate on individual endeavors.
Almond went on to have a successful solo career, including the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who combined acid house with ambient pop over a long-lasting partnership.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell reunited in 2001, producing the Top 40 album Cruelty Without Beauty.
After another hiatus, they reappeared in 2018, 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.
However, they remained active, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.
Ball lately described the band's upcoming release as a homage to the NYC nightlife they visited while recording their first two albums.
He added that his period in hospital had shaped the group's music.
"I experienced strange recollections when I was in and out of hospital because I was on morphine," he told a publication.
"The new songs are a digital reflection of the noises in my head from that time.
"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences me and Marc had in the 80s."
The last versions were finished only days before Ball died. It is scheduled for release in the spring of 2026.
