The talented musician, a key member of the groundbreaking 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the pair achieved a worldwide hit with their cover of Gloria Jones' 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 achieved popular acclaim with 1994's Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his rest at his residence in London on Wednesday 22 October, only a short time after performing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in the Thames-side town.
Recent Health Challenges
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 significantly," he stated in a recent interview. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my back and cracked about five ribs and fractured my wrist."
After contracting a lung infection and developing sepsis, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and remained in the hospital for half a year.
Nevertheless, he had been in "high spirits mentally" during the warmer months, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, titled the upcoming Danceteria, which is scheduled for release next year.
"He was focused and very pleased with the latest project that we actually finished only a few days ago," said the singer in a tribute.
"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 completed album and felt that it was a great piece of work."
Tributes
Almond described his bandmate as "an exceptionally talented creative mastermind", adding: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm very proud 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 wouldn't be where I am without you."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, also paid tribute, remembering Ball's "constant humor" and "steadfast support".
"Being in a partnership with someone is different from being in a group, the connection is very tight," he added.
"That was the case with us. We experienced so many extraordinary, extraordinary, life-affirming moments as a team. Thank you, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a one-parent family in the city of Chester in the late 50s, Ball was put up for adoption when he was 18 months of age.
He grew up in Blackpool with his new family his caregivers, who altered his given name from his birth name to David, together with his sibling his sister, who was also adopted.
He encountered Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both learning fine arts. Inspired by a mutual passion of Northern Soul, they formed Soft Cell the very year, and promptly produced an extended play.
Musical Partnership
The duo were an distinctive pairing: Ball was the quiet musician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all glitter and makeup; but they achieved a rare musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with synthesizers after watching Kraftwerk appear on BBC science show a popular series, and began to marry moody electronic sounds to the catchy tunes Almond was composing.
Their signature song became the UK's second biggest-selling song of the early 80s, selling 21 million copies globally. Alongside hits by other artists, Human League and Ultravox, it contributed to cleared the path for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The song was also included on their full-length debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which spawned two additional top five hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the record up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which peaked at number two in the following year.
Career Highlights
Success had its benefits. "I enjoyed being able to purchase my initial property, having financial security and travelling, which might seem like a beauty queen," Ball recently shared with a publication.
But it also presented challenges. "Newfound wealth allowed we could afford newfound drugs to alleviate 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 musicians."
Amidst the party-filled existence, the pair were also drifting apart, but they managed to produce a second classic album - the unconventional, edgy and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released another LP, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the band to concentrate on individual endeavors.
Almond proceeded to have a successful individual path, featuring the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who combined dance music with ambient pop over a long-lasting partnership.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell reunited in 2001, producing the Top 40 album Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following a further break, they reappeared in recent years, releasing the new tracks 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, that year.
Yet, they remained active, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 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 added that his period in hospital had shaped the band's sound.
"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 electronic representation of the noises in my head from those days.
"In parallel, it's about the experiences we got up to in the 1980s."
The final mixes were finished only days before Ball died. It is scheduled for release in the spring of 2026.
