The talented musician, a key member of the groundbreaking 1980s synth-pop duo Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Together with singer Marc Almond, the duo scored a global success with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in 1984, and their debut album their initial full-length release is considered a classic of electronic music.
He subsequently founded the pioneering electronic act The Grid, who secured chart success with their 1994 single the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his sleep at his home in London on Wednesday 22 October, only a short time after playing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in the Thames-side town.
Health Struggles
At that show, Ball performed in a wheelchair, as he had for the previous couple of years, following a period of ill-health.
"I managed to injure myself significantly," he commented in a recent interview. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my spine and cracked about multiple ribs and fractured my wrist."
After catching a lung infection and developing sepsis, he was placed in an medically-induced sleep and stayed in the hospital for half a year.
However, he had been in "high spirits emotionally" during the summer, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is scheduled for release in the coming year.
"He was concentrated and very pleased with the new album that we literally finished only a few days ago," stated the vocalist 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 finished record and believed that it was a masterpiece."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond described his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", stating: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our legacy.
"Many thanks Dave for being an immense aspect of my life and for the songs you gave me. I couldn't be where I am without you."
Richard Norris from The Grid, shared his condolences, recalling Ball's "endless laughter" and "unwavering friendship".
"Forming a partnership with someone is different from being in a group, the connection is incredibly close," he continued.
"That was the case with us. We experienced so many extraordinary, extraordinary, life-affirming moments as a team. Many thanks, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a one-parent family in the city of Chester in the late 50s, Ball was given up for adoption when he was 18 months of age.
He was raised in Blackpool with adoptive parents his caregivers, who changed his given name from his birth name to his adopted name, together with his younger sister Susan, who was similarly welcomed.
He met Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both learning fine arts. Fuelled by a mutual passion of Northern Soul, they established Soft Cell the very year, and promptly produced an EP.
Musical Partnership
The duo were an unusual combination: Ball was the quiet musician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant showman, all glitter and eye-liner; but they attained a unique creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with electronic instruments after watching the band Kraftwerk appear on BBC science show Tomorrow's World, and started to combine dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling song of the early 80s, selling millions of copies worldwide. Together with successful tracks by other artists, Human League and Ultravox, it helped cleared the path for the synth-pop sound of the 80s.
The track was also featured on their first album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which produced two additional top five singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the record up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which reached at number two in 1982.
Career Highlights
Success had its upsides. "I loved being able to purchase my first home, having money and exploring, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball recently told with a music magazine.
But it also presented challenges. "Newfound wealth allowed we could afford newfound drugs to alleviate the monotony" of press appearances and TV performances, Ball said.
"I know that's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a good reason, because it applies for so many bands."
Amidst the hedonistic lifestyle, the pair were also growing distant, but they managed to produce a second classic album - the unconventional, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out one more LP, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the band to focus on individual endeavors.
Almond went on to have a successful individual path, featuring the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who combined dance music with melodic sounds over a long-lasting partnership.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell came back together in 2001, releasing the charting album Cruelty Without Beauty.
After another hiatus, they reappeared in recent years, issuing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was supposed to be a farewell show at the O2 Arena on 30 September, 2018.
However, they stayed together, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.
Ball lately characterized the band's new album as a tribute to the NYC nightlife they frequented while recording their initial records.
He added that his period in medical care had shaped the group's music.
"I experienced unusual memories when I was coming and going of hospital because I was on morphine," he explained to a publication.
"The new songs are a digital reflection of the sounds in my mind from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences we 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.
