The talented musician, a key member of the pioneering 1980s synth-pop band Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the team scored a global success with their version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in 1984, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a classic of synth-pop.
He later founded the pioneering electronic act The Grid, who secured chart success with 1994's Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully in his rest at his residence in London on Wednesday 22 October, just weeks after playing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in Henley-on-Thames.
Recent Health Challenges
During that show, Ball performed in a wheelchair, as he had for the previous couple of years, following a spate of health issues.
"I ended up damage myself quite a bit," he commented in 2023. "I broke lower vertebrae in my back and cracked about five ribs and fractured my wrist."
Following catching a lung infection and developing sepsis, he was placed 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 fresh record with Almond, titled the upcoming Danceteria, which is set for release in the coming year.
"He was focused and very pleased with the new album that we actually completed 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 positive year for him, and I take some solace from the fact that he heard the finished record and believed that it was a masterpiece."
Tributes
Almond referred to his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", adding: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our body of work.
"Thank you Dave for being an immense aspect of my existence and for the music you created with me. I wouldn't be where I am without you."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, shared his condolences, remembering Ball's "endless laughter" and "unwavering friendship".
"Forming a duo with someone is distinct from joining a group, the connection is very tight," he added.
"That's how it was with us. We experienced so many remarkable, incredible, memorable experiences as a team. Many thanks, Dave."
Early Life
Born into a single-parent household in Chester in 1959, Ball was given up for adoption when he was a year and a half of age.
He was raised in the seaside town with his new family his caregivers, who changed his first name from Paul to David, alongside his younger sister his sister, who was similarly welcomed.
He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in the late 70s, where they were both learning art. Inspired by a shared love of Northern Soul, they established Soft Cell the very year, and quickly produced an EP.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an distinctive pairing: Ball was the reserved musician, hunched over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant showman, all glitter and eye-liner; but they attained a unique creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with synthesizers after viewing Kraftwerk perform on BBC program a popular series, and started to combine dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second biggest-selling song of 1981, shifting 21 million units worldwide. Alongside successful tracks by other artists, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it contributed to paved the path for the electronic music style of the 80s.
The song was also included on their first album, their initial LP, which produced two further high-charting hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the album up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which reached at number two in the following year.
Career Highlights
Success had its benefits. "I enjoyed being able to afford my first home, having money and travelling, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball recently shared with a publication.
But it also caused challenges. "Newfound wealth allowed we could afford substances to relieve the boredom" of press appearances and TV performances, Ball said.
"I realize that's a common saying, but it's a truism for a good reason, because it applies for so many musicians."
During the hedonistic lifestyle, the duo were also drifting apart, but they succeeded to produce a second classic album - the wayward, edgy and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out another LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the band to concentrate on individual endeavors.
Almond went on to have a prosperous solo career, including the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who mixed dance music with ambient pop over a long-lasting partnership.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell reunited in 2001, releasing the Top 40 album Cruelty Without Beauty.
After a further 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 final performance at the O2 Arena on 30 September, that year.
However, they remained together, recording their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.
Ball lately characterized the duo's new album as a homage to the NYC nightlife they visited while recording their initial records.
He noted that his period in hospital had influenced the group's music.
"I had unusual memories when I was coming and going of the hospital because I was on morphine," he told a publication.
"The new songs are a electronic representation of the sounds in my head 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 days before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for release in the spring of 2026.
