The talented musician, one half of the innovative 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Together with singer Marc Almond, the pair scored a global success with their version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a classic of synth-pop.
He later founded the innovative electronic act The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with 1994's Swamp Thing.
Ball died calmly in his rest at his residence in London on October 22, only a short time after playing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in Henley-on-Thames.
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 significantly," he commented in a recent interview. "I broke lower vertebrae in my spine and cracked about five ribs and fractured my wrist."
After contracting pneumonia and suffering from blood poisoning, he was put in an induced coma and remained in hospital for seven months.
However, he had been in "high spirits mentally" over the summer, as he worked on a new album with Almond, titled the upcoming Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication next year.
"He was concentrated and so happy with the new album that we actually finished only a few days ago," stated the singer in a tribute.
"It's so sad as next year was completely planned to be such an uplifting year for him, and I take some solace from the fact that he listened to the finished record and felt that it was a great piece of work."
Tributes
Almond described his bandmate as "an exceptionally talented musical genius", adding: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our body of work.
"Many thanks Dave for being an immense part of my existence and for the songs you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without your influence."
Richard Norris from The Grid, also paid tribute, remembering Ball's "constant humor" and "steadfast support".
"Forming a partnership with someone is different from being in a group, the connection is very tight," he added.
"That was the case with us. We went through so many extraordinary, extraordinary, life-affirming moments as a team. Thank you, Dave."
Formative Years
Brought into the world into a single-parent household in the city of Chester in the late 50s, Ball was given up for adoption when he was a year and a half old.
He was raised in the seaside town with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who altered his first name from Paul to his adopted name, together with his younger sister his sister, who was also adopted.
He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both learning art. Fuelled by a mutual passion of Northern Soul, they formed Soft Cell the very year, and quickly recorded an extended play.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an distinctive combination: Ball was the reserved musician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all glitter and makeup; but they achieved a rare creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with synthesizers after viewing Kraftwerk appear on a television program Tomorrow's World, and began to marry dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.
Their signature song became the UK's second biggest-selling song of the early 80s, selling millions of units worldwide. Together with hits by other artists, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it helped paved the way for the electronic music style of the 80s.
The song was also featured on their full-length debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which produced two additional top five singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the album up with the separate release, Torch, which peaked at the second position in 1982.
Professional Journey
Fame had its upsides. "I loved being able to afford my first home, having financial security and exploring, which might seem like a beauty queen," Ball recently told with a music magazine.
But it also caused challenges. "Newfound wealth allowed we could purchase newfound drugs to relieve the boredom" of press appearances and TV performances, Ball said.
"I know that's a common saying, but it's a cliché for a good reason, because it works for so many bands."
During the hedonistic lifestyle, the pair were also growing distant, but they managed to produce a second memorable record - the unconventional, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out one more LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the band to concentrate on individual endeavors.
Almond went on to have a prosperous individual path, featuring the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who combined acid house with melodic sounds over a enduring partnership.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, releasing the charting record Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following another break, they returned in recent years, 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 O2 Arena on 30 September, that year.
However, they stayed active, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic restrictions.
Ball recently characterized the duo's upcoming release as a homage to the NYC nightlife they frequented while making their initial records.
He added that his period in medical care had influenced the band's sound.
"I had unusual memories when I was coming and going of the hospital because I was on morphine," he explained to a music magazine.
"The new songs are a digital reflection of the sounds in my mind from that time.
"In parallel, it's about the experiences me and Marc got up to in the 80s."
The final mixes were finished only a short time before Ball died. It is scheduled for launch in Spring 2026.
