The talented musician, a key member of the groundbreaking 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has passed away 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 first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a seminal work of electronic music.
He later founded the pioneering techno group The Grid, who achieved popular acclaim with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball died calmly in his rest at his residence in London on Wednesday 22 October, only a short time after performing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in the Thames-side town.
Recent Health Challenges
During that show, Ball performed in a mobility chair, as he had for the last two years, after a period of ill-health.
"I managed to injure myself quite a bit," he commented in 2023. "I fractured spinal bones in my back and cracked about five ribs and fractured my arm."
After contracting a lung infection and suffering from blood poisoning, 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, titled the upcoming Danceteria, which is set for publication next year.
"He was concentrated and very pleased 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 all set to be such an positive year for him, and I take some solace from the fact that he heard the completed album and believed that it was a masterpiece."
Tributes
Almond referred to his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant musical genius", adding: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our legacy.
"Many thanks Dave for being an significant part of my existence and for the music you gave me. I wouldn't be where I am without you."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, also paid tribute, recalling Ball's "endless laughter" and "steadfast support".
"Forming a duo with someone is distinct from being in a band, the bond is very tight," he added.
"That was the case with us. We went through so many remarkable, incredible, memorable experiences together. Many thanks, Dave."
Formative Years
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 grew up in the seaside town with adoptive parents his caregivers, who changed his given name from his birth name to David, together with his younger sister his sister, who was also adopted.
He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both studying art. Inspired by a mutual passion of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and promptly produced an extended play.
Creative Collaboration
The duo were an distinctive combination: Ball was the quiet musician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant showman, all sparkle and makeup; but they achieved a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with electronic instruments after watching Kraftwerk perform on a television program a popular series, and began to marry dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling single of 1981, shifting millions of copies globally. Together with hits by other artists, Human League and Ultravox, it helped paved the way for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The track was also featured on their full-length debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which spawned two further top five hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the record up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at the second position in the following year.
Career Highlights
Fame had its benefits. "I enjoyed being able to purchase my first home, having money and exploring, which makes me sound like a Miss World," Ball recently told with a music magazine.
But it also caused problems. "Sudden riches meant we could afford substances to relieve the boredom" of media interviews and television shows, Ball explained.
"I know that's a common saying, but it's a truism for a valid cause, because it applies for so many bands."
Amidst the party-filled existence, the pair were also growing distant, but they managed to create a follow-up memorable record - the unconventional, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out another album, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the band to focus on individual endeavors.
Almond went on to have a successful individual path, featuring the top 10 hit 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 the early 2000s, producing the charting record Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following a further break, 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 September 30, 2018.
However, they remained together, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.
Ball recently characterized the band's new album as a homage to the NYC nightlife they frequented while recording their first two albums.
He noted that his period in medical care had shaped the band's sound.
"I had strange recollections when I was coming and going of hospital because I was on pain medication," he told a music magazine.
"Our latest tracks are a digital reflection of the noises in my head from that time.
"Simultaneously, it's about the times me and Marc got up to in the 80s."
The last versions were completed only days before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for launch in Spring 2026.
