The talented musician, a key member of the pioneering 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Together with singer Marc Almond, the team achieved a worldwide hit with their cover of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in 1984, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a classic of electronic music.
He subsequently formed the pioneering electronic act The Grid, who achieved chart success with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball died calmly in his rest at his residence in London on October 22, only a short time after performing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in the Thames-side town.
Health Struggles
At that performance, Ball performed in a wheelchair, as he had for the last two years, after a period of ill-health.
"I ended up injure myself quite a bit," he stated in 2023. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my back and fractured about five ribs and broke my wrist."
After contracting pneumonia and developing blood poisoning, he was placed in an induced coma and remained in the hospital for seven months.
However, he had been in "high spirits emotionally" during the summer, as he was developing a fresh record with Almond, titled the upcoming Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication in the coming year.
"He was concentrated and very pleased with the latest project that we actually completed only a few days ago," said the singer in a heartfelt message.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was all set to be such an positive time for him, and I take some solace from the knowledge that he heard the completed album and believed that it was a great piece of work."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond referred to 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 body of work.
"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, recalling Ball's "constant humor" and "unwavering friendship".
"Being in a partnership with someone is different from being in a band, the bond is incredibly close," he continued.
"That's how it was with us. We experienced so many extraordinary, extraordinary, memorable moments together. Thank you, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a one-parent family in Chester in 1959, Ball was given up for adoption when he was 18 months of age.
He grew up in Blackpool with his new family Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his given name from his birth name to his adopted name, together with his younger sister 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 shared love of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the same year, and promptly produced an extended play.
Musical Partnership
The duo were an distinctive pairing: Ball was the reserved musician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant showman, all glitter and eye-liner; but they attained a rare musical alchemy.
Ball had developed a fascination with electronic instruments after viewing Kraftwerk perform on a television program Tomorrow's World, and began to marry dark electronica to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second biggest-selling song of the early 80s, selling 21 million units globally. Alongside successful tracks by other artists, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it helped paved the way for the electronic music style of the 80s.
The song was also included on their first album, their initial LP, which spawned two further top five singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the album up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which peaked at number two in the following year.
Career Highlights
Success had its upsides. "I enjoyed being able to afford my initial property, having financial security and travelling, which might seem like a beauty queen," Ball recently shared with a publication.
But it also presented problems. "Newfound wealth meant we could purchase newfound drugs to alleviate the boredom" of media interviews and TV performances, Ball said.
"I realize that's a common saying, but it's a cliché for a valid cause, because it applies for so many bands."
During the party-filled existence, the duo were also growing distant, but they managed to create a second memorable record - the unconventional, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out one more album, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the band to concentrate on individual endeavors.
Almond proceeded to have a successful solo career, including the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who mixed dance music with ambient pop over a long-lasting collaboration.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell reunited in 2001, releasing the charting record Cruelty Without Beauty.
After another break, they returned in recent years, issuing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was supposed to be a farewell show at the large venue on 30 September, 2018.
Yet, they remained active, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.
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 shaped the band's sound.
"I had unusual memories when I was in and out of the hospital because I was on morphine," he told a publication.
"The new songs are a digital reflection of the sounds in my head from that time.
"In parallel, it's about the times 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 Spring 2026.
