The talented musician, one half of the pioneering 1980s synth-pop duo 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' the classic track Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a seminal work of synth-pop.
He later founded the pioneering electronic act The Grid, who achieved chart success with 1994's Swamp Thing.
Ball died peacefully in his sleep at his home 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
During that show, Ball appeared in a wheelchair, as he had for the previous couple of years, after a period of ill-health.
"I managed to injure myself significantly," he stated in 2023. "I fractured spinal bones in my spine and cracked about multiple ribs and broke my wrist."
After contracting pneumonia and developing sepsis, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and remained in hospital for seven months.
However, he had been in "a great place mentally" during the summer, as he worked on a new album with Almond, called Danceteria, which is set for publication next year.
"He was focused and so happy with the new album that we literally completed only a few days ago," stated the vocalist in a heartfelt message.
"It's so sad as next year was completely planned to be such an positive year for him, and I find comfort from the fact that he listened to the finished record and believed that it was a masterpiece."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond referred to 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.
"Thank you Dave for being an significant part of my existence and for the music you gave me. I couldn't be where I am without you."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, shared his condolences, recalling Ball's "endless laughter" and "unwavering friendship".
"Being in a partnership with someone is distinct from joining a band, the connection is very tight," he continued.
"That's how it was with us. We experienced so many extraordinary, incredible, life-affirming experiences as a team. Many thanks, Dave."
Formative Years
Born into a single-parent household in Chester in the late 50s, 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 altered his given name from his birth name to David, together with his sibling Susan, who was also adopted.
He met Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both learning fine arts. Fuelled by a mutual passion of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and promptly produced an EP.
Creative Collaboration
The pair were an distinctive combination: Ball was the reserved musician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant showman, all glitter and eye-liner; but they attained a rare musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with electronic instruments after viewing Kraftwerk perform on a television science show Tomorrow's World, and began to marry moody electronic sounds to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second most popular song of 1981, shifting 21 million copies globally. Together with successful tracks by other artists, Human League and Ultravox, it helped paved the path for the synth-pop sound of the 80s.
The track was also included on their full-length debut, their initial LP, which spawned two further top five hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the album up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at number two in 1982.
Career Highlights
Success had its benefits. "I loved being able to purchase my initial property, having money and travelling, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball recently shared with a publication.
But it also presented challenges. "Sudden riches allowed we could afford newfound drugs to alleviate the monotony" of press appearances and television shows, Ball said.
"I know 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 second classic album - the unconventional, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released another album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the group to focus on individual endeavors.
Almond went on to have a successful individual path, including 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 the early 2000s, producing the charting album Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following a further break, they returned in 2018, issuing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was intended to be a farewell show at the large venue on 30 September, 2018.
However, they remained active, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.
Ball lately described the duo's new album as a tribute to the New York club scene they visited while making their initial records.
He noted that his time in hospital had shaped the group's music.
"I had unusual memories when I was coming and going of the hospital because I was on pain medication," 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 times we got up to in the 1980s."
The last versions were completed only days before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for release in the spring of 2026.
