The talented musician, one half of the innovative 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' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their debut album their initial full-length release is considered a seminal work of electronic music.
He later founded the innovative electronic act The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with 1994's Swamp Thing.
Ball died calmly in his sleep at his home in London on October 22, just weeks after playing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in the Thames-side town.
Health Struggles
At that performance, Ball performed in a mobility chair, as he had for the last two years, after a spate of ill-health.
"I managed to injure myself significantly," he stated in 2023. "I fractured spinal bones in my spine and fractured about five ribs and broke my wrist."
Following catching pneumonia and developing blood poisoning, he was put in an induced coma and remained in hospital for half a year.
Nevertheless, he had been in "a great place mentally" over the summer, 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 very pleased with the latest project that we actually finished only a few days ago," stated the singer in a heartfelt message.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was all set to be such an uplifting time for him, and I find comfort from the fact that he heard the completed album and believed that it was a great piece of work."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond referred to his bandmate as "a wonderfully brilliant musical genius", adding: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our body of work.
"Many thanks Dave for being an immense aspect of my life and for the songs you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without your influence."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, also paid tribute, remembering Ball's "constant humor" and "unwavering friendship".
"Forming a duo with someone is different from being in a group, the connection is incredibly close," he added.
"That was the case with us. We experienced so many extraordinary, extraordinary, life-affirming moments together. Many thanks, Dave."
Formative Years
Born into a single-parent household in Chester in the late 50s, Ball was given up for adoption when he was 18 months of age.
He was raised in Blackpool with his new family Donald and Brenda Ball, who altered his given name from his birth name to his adopted name, together with his younger sister his sister, 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 Northern Soul, they established Soft Cell the very year, and quickly recorded an extended play.
Creative Collaboration
The duo were an distinctive pairing: Ball was the reserved musician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant showman, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they attained a rare musical alchemy.
Ball had developed a fascination with electronic instruments after watching Kraftwerk appear on a television science show Tomorrow's World, and started to combine dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.
Their signature song became the United Kingdom's second most popular single of the early 80s, shifting millions of units globally. Alongside successful tracks by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it contributed to cleared the way for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.
The track was also included on their first album, their initial LP, which spawned two additional high-charting hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the record up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which reached at number two in the following year.
Professional Journey
Success had its upsides. "I enjoyed being able to purchase my first home, having financial security and travelling, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball recently shared with a publication.
But it also caused challenges. "Sudden riches meant we could afford substances to relieve the boredom" of media interviews and television shows, Ball said.
"I realize that's a common saying, but it's a truism for a valid cause, because it applies for so many bands."
Amidst the party-filled existence, the duo were also growing distant, but they managed to create a second classic album - the wayward, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out another album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band to focus on individual endeavors.
Almond proceeded to have a prosperous solo career, including the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who combined acid house with melodic sounds over a long-lasting partnership.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell came back together in 2001, producing the Top 40 album Cruelty Without Beauty.
After a further hiatus, they reappeared in 2018, 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 September 30, 2018.
However, they stayed together, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic restrictions.
Ball recently characterized the band's upcoming release as a homage to the New York club scene they frequented while recording their first two albums.
He added that his period in hospital had influenced the band's sound.
"I had strange recollections when I was coming and going of the hospital because I was on morphine," he told a music magazine.
"Our latest tracks are a digital reflection of the noises in my head from that time.
"In parallel, it's about the times me and Marc got up to in the 1980s."
The final mixes were finished only a short time before Ball died. It is scheduled for launch in the spring of 2026.
