The talented musician, one half of the innovative 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Alongside vocalist Marc Almond, the team scored a global success with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in 1984, and their first record their initial full-length release is regarded as a classic of electronic music.
He subsequently formed the innovative electronic act The Grid, who achieved popular acclaim with their 1994 single Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully in his rest 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 Henley-on-Thames.
Recent Health Challenges
At that show, Ball performed in a mobility chair, as he had for the previous couple of years, after a spate of ill-health.
"I ended up injure myself quite a bit," he stated in 2023. "I broke spinal bones in my spine and fractured about five ribs and broke my wrist."
Following catching pneumonia and developing blood poisoning, he was placed in an medically-induced sleep and remained in the hospital for seven months.
Nevertheless, he had been in "a great place emotionally" over the warmer months, as he was developing a new album with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is set for release in the coming year.
"He was focused and so happy with the new album that we actually completed only a short time ago," stated the singer in a tribute.
"It's so sad as next year was completely planned to be such an positive time for him, and I find comfort from the fact that he heard the finished record and felt that it was a great piece of work."
Tributes
Almond referred to his bandmate as "an exceptionally talented creative mastermind", stating: "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 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, 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 incredibly close," he continued.
"That's how it was with us. We experienced so many extraordinary, incredible, memorable experiences together. Many thanks, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a single-parent household in the city of Chester in the late 50s, Ball was put up for adoption when he was a year and a half of age.
He was raised in Blackpool with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his first name from his birth name to David, together with his sibling his sister, who was similarly welcomed.
He encountered Almond at an art college in the late 70s, where they were both studying fine arts. Inspired by a mutual passion of Northern Soul, they formed Soft Cell the very year, and promptly produced an extended play.
Creative Collaboration
The duo were an distinctive pairing: Ball was the quiet technician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant showman, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they achieved a rare creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with synthesizers after viewing Kraftwerk perform on a television science show a popular series, and started to marry dark electronica to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second most popular single of 1981, shifting 21 million units globally. Together with hits by other artists, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it contributed to paved the way for the synth-pop sound of the 80s.
The song was also included on their full-length debut, their initial LP, which produced two additional top five singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the record up with the separate release, Torch, which peaked at number two in the following year.
Professional Journey
Fame had its upsides. "I enjoyed being able to afford my first home, having financial security and travelling, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball not long ago told with a music magazine.
But it also presented challenges. "Sudden riches allowed we could purchase substances to relieve the monotony" of media interviews and television shows, Ball said.
"I realize that's a common saying, but it's a cliché for a valid cause, because it applies for so many bands."
During the hedonistic lifestyle, the pair were also growing distant, but they managed to create a follow-up memorable record - the unconventional, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released another LP, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the group to concentrate on other projects.
Almond proceeded to have a successful individual path, including the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who mixed acid house with melodic sounds over a enduring collaboration.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, releasing the charting record Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following a further hiatus, they returned in recent years, releasing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was intended to be a final performance at the O2 Arena on 30 September, 2018.
However, they remained active, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.
Ball recently characterized the duo's upcoming release as a homage to the New York club scene they visited while making their first two albums.
He added that his period in medical care had shaped the band's sound.
"I experienced unusual memories when I was coming and going of hospital because I was on morphine," he told a publication.
"Our latest tracks are a electronic representation of the noises in my head from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences me and Marc had in the 80s."
The final mixes were completed only a short time before Ball died. It is due for launch in Spring 2026.
