The talented musician, one half 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 version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record their initial full-length release is considered a classic of electronic music.
He subsequently founded the pioneering techno group The Grid, who secured chart success with 1994's Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his sleep at his residence in London on October 22, just weeks after performing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in Henley-on-Thames.
Recent Health Challenges
During that show, Ball appeared in a wheelchair, as he had for the previous couple of years, after a period of ill-health.
"I ended up injure myself significantly," he stated in a recent interview. "I broke spinal bones in my spine and cracked about five ribs and broke my arm."
After catching pneumonia and suffering from sepsis, he was put in an induced coma and stayed in hospital for half a year.
However, he had been in "a great place emotionally" during the summer, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, called the upcoming Danceteria, which is set for publication next year.
"He was focused and very pleased with the latest project that we literally completed only a short time ago," stated the vocalist in a heartfelt message.
"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 knowledge that he heard the finished record 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 core essence 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 couldn't be where I am without your influence."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, shared his condolences, remembering Ball's "endless laughter" and "steadfast support".
"Forming a partnership with someone is different from being in a band, the bond is incredibly close," he continued.
"That was the case with us. We experienced so many remarkable, incredible, life-affirming experiences as a team. Many thanks, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a one-parent family in the city of Chester in 1959, Ball was put up for adoption when he was a year and a half of age.
He grew up in the seaside town with his new family his caregivers, who changed his first name from his birth name to David, together with his sibling Susan, who was also adopted.
He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic 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 extended play.
Creative Collaboration
The duo were an distinctive combination: Ball was the quiet technician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant showman, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they attained a unique creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with synthesizers after viewing Kraftwerk perform on a television science show a popular series, and started to combine dark electronica to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.
Their signature song became the UK's second biggest-selling single of 1981, shifting millions of units worldwide. Together with successful tracks by other artists, Human League and Ultravox, it helped paved the path for the synth-pop sound of the 80s.
The track was also featured on their full-length debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which produced two additional top five hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the record up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which peaked at number two in 1982.
Professional Journey
Fame had its benefits. "I enjoyed being able to purchase my first home, having financial security and exploring, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball not long ago told with a publication.
But it also caused problems. "Sudden riches meant we could afford substances to relieve the monotony" of media interviews and TV performances, Ball explained.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a good reason, because it works for so many musicians."
During the party-filled existence, the duo were also growing distant, but they managed to produce a follow-up memorable record - the wayward, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out one more album, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the group to concentrate on individual endeavors.
Almond proceeded to have a successful individual path, featuring the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who mixed dance music with melodic sounds over a enduring partnership.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell came back together in 2001, releasing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following another break, they reappeared in 2018, 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 September 30, that year.
Yet, they stayed active, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.
Ball lately described the duo's upcoming release as a homage to the New York club scene they visited while making their first two albums.
He added that his time in hospital had influenced the band's sound.
"I had unusual memories when I was coming and going of hospital because I was on morphine," he told a publication.
"Our latest tracks are a electronic representation of the sounds in my head from those days.
"In parallel, it's about the times me and Marc had in the 1980s."
The last versions were finished only days before Ball passed away. It is due for launch in Spring 2026.
