The talented musician, one half of the pioneering 1980s synth-pop duo Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Together with vocalist Marc Almond, the team scored a global success with their version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in 1984, and their debut album their initial full-length release is considered a classic of synth-pop.
He subsequently formed the pioneering techno group 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 performing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in the Thames-side town.
Health Struggles
During that show, Ball performed in a mobility chair, as he had for the previous couple of years, after a spate of health issues.
"I managed to injure myself quite a bit," he commented in a recent interview. "I broke lower vertebrae in my back and fractured about five ribs and fractured my wrist."
After contracting pneumonia and developing sepsis, he was placed in an medically-induced sleep and remained in the hospital for half a year.
Nevertheless, he had been in "a great place emotionally" during the summer, as he was developing a fresh record with Almond, called Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication next year.
"He was focused and very pleased with the latest project that we literally completed only a short time ago," said the singer in a heartfelt message.
"It's so sad as next year was completely planned to be such an positive year for him, and I take some solace from the fact that he heard the completed album and felt that it was a great piece of work."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond described his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant musical genius", adding: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our legacy.
"Thank you Dave for being an immense 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, shared his condolences, recalling Ball's "endless laughter" and "steadfast support".
"Forming a partnership with someone is different from being in a group, the bond is incredibly close," he added.
"That was the case with us. We experienced so many remarkable, incredible, memorable experiences as a team. Many thanks, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a single-parent household in Chester in 1959, Ball was given up for adoption when he was a year and a half old.
He was raised in the seaside town with his new family his caregivers, who changed his given name from his birth name to his adopted name, alongside his sibling Susan, who was similarly welcomed.
He encountered Almond at an art college in the late 70s, where they were both studying art. Fuelled by a mutual passion of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and quickly produced an EP.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an distinctive combination: Ball was the reserved musician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant showman, all glitter and makeup; but they achieved a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with electronic instruments after viewing Kraftwerk appear on a television science show Tomorrow's World, and started to marry moody electronic sounds to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.
Their signature song became the United Kingdom's second most popular song of 1981, selling 21 million copies worldwide. Alongside successful tracks by other artists, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it contributed to cleared the path for the electronic music style of the 80s.
The song was also included on their full-length debut, their initial LP, which spawned two further high-charting hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the record up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at the second position in 1982.
Career Highlights
Success had its upsides. "I loved being able to afford my initial property, having financial security and exploring, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball recently told with a publication.
But it also caused challenges. "Newfound wealth meant we could afford substances to alleviate the monotony" of media interviews and television shows, Ball said.
"I realize that's a common saying, but it's a cliché for a good reason, because it applies for so many musicians."
During 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 released one more LP, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the band to concentrate on individual endeavors.
Almond proceeded 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 mixed acid house with ambient pop over a enduring partnership.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell came back together in the early 2000s, releasing the charting album Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following another break, they returned in recent years, releasing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was intended to be a farewell show at the O2 Arena on 30 September, that year.
Yet, they stayed together, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.
Ball recently characterized the duo's upcoming release as a tribute to the NYC nightlife they frequented while making their first two albums.
He added that his time in medical care had influenced the band's sound.
"I experienced strange recollections when I was in and out of the hospital because I was on morphine," he explained to a music magazine.
"The new songs are a electronic representation of the sounds in my head from that time.
"In parallel, it's about the times we had in the 1980s."
The final mixes were completed only a short time before Ball died. It is due for release in the spring of 2026.
