The talented musician, one half of the pioneering 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Together with vocalist Marc Almond, the team scored a worldwide hit with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a classic of synth-pop.
He later founded the pioneering techno group The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with their 1994 single Swamp Thing.
Ball died peacefully in his rest at his residence 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 performance, Ball appeared in a wheelchair, as he had for the last two years, after a period of health issues.
"I ended up damage myself significantly," he stated in a recent interview. "I fractured spinal bones in my back and cracked about multiple ribs and fractured my wrist."
After catching pneumonia and suffering from sepsis, he was placed in an medically-induced sleep and remained in the hospital for half a year.
However, he had been in "a great place mentally" over the warmer months, as he worked on a new album with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication in the coming year.
"He was focused and so happy with the latest project that we literally completed only a few days ago," stated the vocalist in a heartfelt message.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was completely planned to be such an uplifting time for him, and I find comfort from the fact that he listened to the finished record 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 existence 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, recalling Ball's "constant humor" and "steadfast support".
"Forming a partnership with someone is different from being in a band, the bond is incredibly close," he added.
"That was the case with us. We experienced so many extraordinary, incredible, memorable moments as a team. Thank you, Dave."
Formative Years
Brought into the world into a one-parent family in the city of Chester in 1959, Ball was given 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 given name from his birth name to David, alongside his sibling his sister, who was also adopted.
He encountered Almond at an art college in the late 70s, where they were both studying art. Fuelled by a shared love of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the very year, and quickly produced an EP.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an unusual combination: Ball was the quiet musician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all glitter and eye-liner; but they achieved a unique creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with synthesizers after viewing Kraftwerk perform on BBC program Tomorrow's World, and began to marry moody electronic sounds to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second most popular song of the early 80s, shifting 21 million units globally. Alongside successful tracks by other artists, Human League and Ultravox, it helped paved the path for the electronic music style of the 80s.
The track was also included on their full-length debut, their initial LP, which produced two further 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 benefits. "I loved being able to purchase my initial property, having money and travelling, which makes me sound like a Miss World," Ball recently told with a music magazine.
But it also caused challenges. "Newfound wealth meant we could purchase newfound drugs to alleviate the monotony" of press appearances and TV performances, Ball explained.
"I know that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a valid cause, because it applies for so many bands."
During the hedonistic lifestyle, the duo were also drifting apart, but they succeeded to create a follow-up memorable record - the wayward, edgy and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released another LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group to focus on other projects.
Almond went on to have a successful solo career, including 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 charting record Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following a further hiatus, they reappeared in 2018, issuing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was intended to be a farewell show at the large venue on September 30, 2018.
However, they remained active, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.
Ball recently described the band's upcoming release as a tribute to the New York club scene they frequented while making their initial records.
He added that his period in hospital had influenced the group's music.
"I experienced unusual memories when I was coming and going of hospital because I was on pain medication," he told a publication.
"Our latest tracks are a digital reflection of the noises in my mind from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences we had in the 1980s."
The last versions were completed only days before Ball died. It is scheduled for release in Spring 2026.
