The talented musician, a key member of the innovative 1980s synth-pop band Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Alongside vocalist Marc Almond, the pair achieved a worldwide hit with their cover of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a seminal work of electronic music.
He later formed the pioneering techno group The Grid, who secured chart success with their 1994 single the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball died calmly in his rest at his residence in London on Wednesday 22 October, just weeks after playing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in the Thames-side town.
Health Struggles
At that show, Ball appeared in a mobility chair, as he had for the previous couple of years, after a period of health issues.
"I ended up damage myself significantly," he stated in 2023. "I broke spinal bones in my spine and fractured about multiple ribs and fractured my wrist."
After catching pneumonia and suffering from blood poisoning, he was placed in an induced coma and remained in the hospital for half a year.
Nevertheless, he had been in "a great place mentally" over the warmer months, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, called the upcoming Danceteria, which is set for release in the coming year.
"He was concentrated and so happy with the latest project that we actually finished only a few days ago," stated the vocalist in a tribute.
"It's so sad as next year was completely planned to be such an positive time for him, and I find comfort from the knowledge that he heard the completed album and felt that it was a masterpiece."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond described his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", stating: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our legacy.
"Thank you Dave for being an significant aspect of my existence and for the songs you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without you."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, also paid tribute, remembering Ball's "constant humor" and "unwavering friendship".
"Being in a duo with someone is distinct from being in a group, the connection is very tight," he added.
"That's how it was with us. We experienced so many extraordinary, extraordinary, life-affirming moments together. Thank you, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a single-parent household in Chester in the late 50s, Ball was put up for adoption when he was a year and a half old.
He grew up in Blackpool with adoptive parents his caregivers, who changed his first name from Paul to his adopted name, together with his younger sister Susan, who was similarly welcomed.
He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both learning fine arts. Fuelled by a mutual passion of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the same year, and promptly recorded an extended play.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an distinctive combination: Ball was the quiet technician, hunched over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic showman, all glitter and makeup; but they attained a rare creative synergy.
Ball had developed a interest with electronic instruments after viewing the band Kraftwerk perform on BBC science show a popular series, and started to marry dark electronica to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second biggest-selling single of the early 80s, shifting millions of copies globally. Together with hits by other artists, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it contributed to paved the way for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The track was also included on their full-length debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which produced two further top five hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the record up with the separate release, Torch, which peaked at number two in the following year.
Professional Journey
Fame had its benefits. "I loved being able to purchase my first home, having money and travelling, which makes me sound like a Miss World," Ball recently told with a publication.
But it also caused problems. "Sudden riches allowed we could purchase newfound drugs to alleviate the boredom" of media interviews and TV performances, Ball said.
"I realize that's a common saying, but it's a cliché 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 memorable record - the unconventional, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released another album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the group 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 combined acid house with melodic sounds over a long-lasting collaboration.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, producing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.
After another hiatus, they reappeared in recent years, 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 30 September, 2018.
Yet, they stayed active, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.
Ball recently characterized the duo's new album as a tribute to the NYC nightlife they visited while making their initial records.
He noted that his period in medical care had shaped the band's sound.
"I had strange recollections when I was in and out of hospital because I was on morphine," he told a music magazine.
"The new songs are a electronic representation of the sounds in my head from those days.
"In parallel, it's about the experiences me and Marc got up to in the 80s."
The last versions were finished only a short time before Ball died. It is scheduled for launch in the spring of 2026.
