The talented musician, a key member of the pioneering 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Together with singer Marc Almond, the team scored a global success with their cover of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in 1984, and their debut album their initial full-length release is regarded as a seminal work of synth-pop.
He subsequently founded the innovative electronic act The Grid, who secured chart success with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully in his rest at his residence in London on Wednesday 22 October, just weeks after performing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in the Thames-side town.
Health Struggles
During that show, Ball appeared in a wheelchair, as he had for the previous couple of years, after a period of health issues.
"I managed to damage myself quite a bit," he stated in a recent interview. "I broke lower vertebrae in my back and cracked about five ribs and fractured my arm."
After catching a lung infection and developing sepsis, he was placed in an induced coma and remained in hospital for seven months.
Nevertheless, he had been in "high spirits mentally" during the summer, as he was developing a fresh record with Almond, called Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication in the coming year.
"He was focused and so happy with the latest project that we actually completed only a few days ago," said the singer in a heartfelt message.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was all set to be such an uplifting year for him, and I take some solace from the fact that he heard the finished record and felt that it was a masterpiece."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond referred to his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", adding: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our body of work.
"Thank you Dave for being an significant part of my life and for the music you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without your influence."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, shared his condolences, recalling Ball's "constant humor" and "steadfast support".
"Being in a partnership with someone is distinct from joining a group, the connection is very tight," he added.
"That's how it was with us. We experienced so many extraordinary, incredible, memorable moments as a team. Many thanks, Dave."
Early Life
Born into a single-parent household in the city of Chester in the late 50s, Ball was given up for adoption when he was a year and a half old.
He grew up in Blackpool with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who altered his given name from his birth name to his adopted name, together with his younger sister Susan, who was also adopted.
He met Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both learning fine arts. Inspired by a shared love of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the very year, and quickly recorded an extended play.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an unusual combination: Ball was the quiet technician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they achieved a rare creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with electronic instruments after viewing the band Kraftwerk appear on a television program a popular series, and started to marry moody electronic sounds to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling song of the early 80s, selling millions of units globally. Alongside successful tracks by Gary Numan, Human League and Ultravox, it helped paved the way for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The track was also featured on their first album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which spawned two additional 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.
Career Highlights
Fame had its benefits. "I loved being able to afford my initial property, having financial security and exploring, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball recently shared with a music magazine.
But it also presented problems. "Sudden riches allowed we could purchase newfound drugs to relieve the boredom" of press appearances and television shows, Ball said.
"I know that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a good reason, because it works for so many musicians."
During the party-filled existence, the duo were also drifting apart, but they succeeded to produce a second classic album - the wayward, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out one more album, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the band to focus on individual endeavors.
Almond went on to have a successful solo career, featuring 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 enduring collaboration.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell came back together in 2001, releasing the charting record Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following a further hiatus, they reappeared in 2018, 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 30 September, that year.
Yet, they stayed active, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.
Ball lately described the duo's upcoming release as a homage to the New York club scene they visited while recording their initial records.
He noted that his time in medical care had shaped the group's music.
"I had strange recollections when I was coming and going of hospital because I was on pain medication," he explained to a music magazine.
"Our latest tracks are a digital reflection of the sounds in my mind from that time.
"In parallel, it's about the times we got up to in the 1980s."
The final mixes were completed only a short time before Ball died. It is due for release in the spring of 2026.
