The talented musician, a key member of the pioneering 1980s synth-pop 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' the classic track Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a classic of electronic music.
He later formed the pioneering electronic act The Grid, who achieved popular acclaim 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 playing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in the Thames-side town.
Health Struggles
At that performance, Ball appeared in a mobility chair, as he had for the last two years, following a period of health issues.
"I ended up damage myself significantly," he stated in a recent interview. "I broke lower vertebrae in my back and cracked about five ribs and broke my arm."
After contracting 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 summer, as he worked on a new album with Almond, called Danceteria, which is scheduled for release next 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 truly heartbreaking as next year was all set to be such an positive year for him, and I find comfort from the fact that he listened to the completed album and felt that it was a masterpiece."
Tributes
Almond described his bandmate 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.
"Many thanks Dave for being an significant aspect of my life and for the music you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without you."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, also paid tribute, recalling Ball's "constant humor" and "unwavering friendship".
"Being in a duo with someone is different from being in a group, the connection is very tight," he added.
"That was the case with us. We went through so many remarkable, incredible, life-affirming moments as a team. Many thanks, Dave."
Formative Years
Born into a one-parent family in the city of Chester in 1959, Ball was put up for adoption when he was 18 months old.
He was raised in the seaside town with his new family Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his given name from Paul to David, alongside his younger sister his sister, who was also adopted.
He met Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both studying art. Inspired by a mutual passion of Northern Soul, they formed Soft Cell the very year, and promptly recorded an EP.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an unusual pairing: Ball was the reserved technician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant showman, all glitter and eye-liner; but they attained a unique creative synergy.
Ball had developed a interest with synthesizers after viewing Kraftwerk perform on a television program a popular series, and started to combine moody electronic sounds to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.
Their signature song became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling song of the early 80s, shifting millions of copies worldwide. Together with successful tracks by other artists, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it contributed to cleared the path for the electronic music style of the 80s.
The song was also included on their first album, 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 the following year.
Career Highlights
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 not long ago told with a music magazine.
But it also caused problems. "Sudden riches allowed we could purchase newfound drugs to alleviate the monotony" of press appearances and TV performances, Ball said.
"I realize that's a common saying, but it's a truism for a good reason, because it applies for so many musicians."
Amidst the hedonistic lifestyle, the duo were also growing distant, but they succeeded to create a follow-up classic album - the unconventional, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out one more album, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group to focus on other projects.
Almond went on to have a successful individual path, featuring the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who mixed acid house with melodic sounds over a long-lasting collaboration.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell came back together in 2001, releasing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.
After another hiatus, they returned in 2018, issuing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was supposed to be a farewell show at the O2 Arena on September 30, that year.
However, they stayed together, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.
Ball recently characterized the band's upcoming release as a tribute to the NYC nightlife they frequented while making their first two albums.
He noted that his time in medical care had influenced the group's music.
"I had strange recollections when I was coming and going of the hospital because I was on morphine," he told a music magazine.
"The new songs are a digital reflection of the sounds in my head from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences me and Marc got up to in the 80s."
The last versions were completed only a short time before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for release in the spring of 2026.
