The talented musician, a key member of the groundbreaking 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Together with singer Marc Almond, the team achieved a global success with their version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their debut album their initial full-length release is regarded as a seminal work of synth-pop.
He later formed the pioneering techno group The Grid, who achieved popular acclaim with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his rest at his home in London on Wednesday 22 October, just weeks after performing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in the Thames-side town.
Recent Health Challenges
During that performance, Ball performed in a wheelchair, as he had for the previous couple of years, after a spate of health issues.
"I ended up injure myself significantly," he stated in a recent interview. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my spine and cracked about multiple ribs and fractured my arm."
After contracting pneumonia and developing blood poisoning, he was placed in an medically-induced sleep and remained in hospital for seven months.
Nevertheless, he had been in "a great place mentally" over the warmer months, as he worked on a new album with Almond, called Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication in the coming year.
"He was concentrated and so happy with the latest project that we literally completed only a short time ago," stated the vocalist in a tribute.
"It's so sad as next year was completely planned to be such an positive time for him, and I take some solace from the knowledge that he listened to the completed album and felt that it was a great piece of work."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond referred to 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 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, remembering Ball's "endless laughter" and "steadfast support".
"Forming a partnership with someone is distinct from being in a band, the connection is incredibly close," he continued.
"That's how it was with us. We experienced so many extraordinary, incredible, life-affirming experiences together. Thank you, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a single-parent household in Chester in 1959, Ball was put up for adoption when he was a year and a half of age.
He was raised in the seaside town with his new family his caregivers, who changed his first name from Paul to David, alongside his younger sister his sister, who was similarly welcomed.
He met Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both studying art. Fuelled by a shared love of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and quickly recorded an extended play.
Musical Partnership
The duo were an distinctive pairing: Ball was the reserved musician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic showman, all sparkle and makeup; but they achieved a rare creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with electronic instruments after watching Kraftwerk appear on a television science show Tomorrow's World, and began to combine dark electronica to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.
Their signature song became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling song of 1981, shifting 21 million units worldwide. Alongside successful tracks by Gary Numan, Human League and Ultravox, it contributed to paved the path for the electronic music style of the 80s.
The track was also featured on their first album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which produced two additional high-charting hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the album up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which reached at the second position in 1982.
Career Highlights
Success had its upsides. "I enjoyed being able to afford my first home, having financial security and exploring, which might seem like a beauty queen," Ball recently shared with a music magazine.
But it also caused challenges. "Sudden riches 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 cliché for a valid cause, because it works for so many musicians."
During the party-filled existence, the pair were also growing distant, but they managed to create a second classic album - the unconventional, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out another LP, 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 acid house with ambient pop over a long-lasting collaboration.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell came back together in the early 2000s, releasing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.
After another hiatus, they returned in recent years, releasing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was intended to be a final performance at the large venue on 30 September, 2018.
Yet, they stayed together, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.
Ball lately characterized the duo's upcoming release as a tribute to the NYC nightlife they frequented while recording their first two albums.
He added that his time in medical care had shaped the group's music.
"I had unusual memories when I was in and out of hospital because I was on morphine," he told a publication.
"Our latest tracks are a electronic representation of the sounds in my mind from that time.
"In parallel, it's about the times we got up to in the 80s."
The last versions were finished only a short time before Ball died. It is due for launch in the spring of 2026.
