The talented musician, one half of the innovative 1980s synth-pop band Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Together with vocalist Marc Almond, the team scored a global success with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a seminal work of synth-pop.
He later formed the pioneering techno group The Grid, who achieved popular acclaim with their 1994 single the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his sleep at his home in London on October 22, just weeks after performing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in Henley-on-Thames.
Health Struggles
During that performance, 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 commented in a recent interview. "I broke lower vertebrae in my back and fractured about multiple ribs and broke my arm."
Following contracting pneumonia and developing blood poisoning, he was put in an induced coma and stayed in the hospital for half a year.
Nevertheless, he had been in "high spirits mentally" during the summer, as he was developing a new album with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is set for release next year.
"He was focused and very pleased with the latest project that we actually finished only a short time ago," said the vocalist in a heartfelt message.
"It's so sad as next year was all set to be such an uplifting year for him, and I take some solace from the fact that he heard the completed album and felt that it was a masterpiece."
Tributes
Almond referred to his bandmate as "an exceptionally talented 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 immense part of my existence and for the music you gave me. I couldn't be where I am without you."
Richard Norris from The Grid, also paid tribute, remembering Ball's "endless laughter" and "steadfast support".
"Forming a duo with someone is distinct from joining a band, the connection is very tight," he added.
"That's how it was with us. We experienced so many extraordinary, incredible, memorable moments together. Thank you, Dave."
Formative Years
Brought into the world into a one-parent family in the city of Chester in 1959, Ball was put up for adoption when he was 18 months old.
He was raised in the seaside town 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 similarly welcomed.
He encountered Almond at an art college in the late 70s, where they were both learning art. Fuelled by a mutual passion of Northern Soul, they established Soft Cell the same year, and quickly produced an extended play.
Musical Partnership
The duo were an unusual combination: Ball was the reserved musician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic showman, all glitter and eye-liner; but they achieved a unique creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with electronic instruments after viewing the band Kraftwerk appear on BBC program Tomorrow's World, and began to marry moody electronic sounds to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling song of 1981, selling 21 million units worldwide. Together with hits by other artists, Human League and electronic acts, it helped paved the path for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The track was also featured on their full-length debut, their initial LP, which produced two further high-charting hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the album up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at number two in the following year.
Career Highlights
Success had its upsides. "I loved being able to afford my first home, having financial security and travelling, which makes me sound like a Miss World," Ball not long ago told with a music magazine.
But it also presented problems. "Newfound wealth allowed we could purchase substances to relieve the monotony" of media interviews and television shows, Ball explained.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a good reason, because it applies for so many bands."
Amidst the hedonistic lifestyle, the pair were also growing distant, but they managed to create a second classic album - the wayward, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released one more LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the band to focus on other projects.
Almond proceeded to have a prosperous individual path, featuring the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who mixed dance music with melodic sounds over a long-lasting collaboration.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell came back together in the early 2000s, releasing the charting record Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following a further hiatus, they returned in 2018, releasing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was supposed to be a final performance at the large venue on 30 September, that year.
Yet, they stayed together, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.
Ball recently described the duo's new album as a homage to the NYC nightlife they visited while making their initial records.
He added that his period in medical care had influenced the band's sound.
"I experienced unusual memories when I was in and out of the hospital because I was on pain medication," he told a music magazine.
"The new songs are a electronic representation of the noises in my head from those days.
"In parallel, it's about the experiences me and Marc had in the 1980s."
The last versions were finished only a short time before Ball died. It is due for release in the spring of 2026.
