The talented musician, one half of the innovative 1980s synth-pop band Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Together with vocalist Marc Almond, the duo scored a worldwide hit with their version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in 1984, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a classic of electronic music.
He subsequently founded the innovative electronic act The Grid, who secured chart success with their 1994 single the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully in his rest at his home in London on October 22, only a short time after playing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in the Thames-side town.
Recent Health Challenges
During that show, Ball appeared in a wheelchair, as he had for the previous couple of years, after a spate of ill-health.
"I managed to damage myself significantly," he commented in 2023. "I broke spinal bones in my spine and cracked about multiple ribs and broke my arm."
Following contracting pneumonia and developing sepsis, he was placed in an induced coma and stayed in hospital for half a year.
However, he had been in "high spirits mentally" during the warmer months, as he worked on a new album with Almond, titled the upcoming Danceteria, which is scheduled for release next year.
"He was focused and very pleased 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 all set to be such an uplifting year for him, and I take some solace from the knowledge that he heard the completed album and believed that it was a masterpiece."
Tributes
Almond described his bandmate as "an exceptionally talented musical genius", stating: "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 immense part of my life and for the songs you created with me. I wouldn't be where I am without your influence."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, also paid tribute, remembering Ball's "constant humor" and "unwavering friendship".
"Being in a duo with someone is distinct from joining a band, the connection is incredibly close," he continued.
"That was the case with us. We went through so many remarkable, incredible, life-affirming experiences together. 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 was raised in the seaside town with his new family his caregivers, who changed his first name from Paul to his adopted name, together with his sibling Susan, who was similarly welcomed.
He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in the late 70s, where they were both learning fine arts. Fuelled by a mutual passion of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the very year, and quickly produced an EP.
Creative Collaboration
The duo were an distinctive combination: Ball was the quiet technician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a charismatic showman, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they attained a rare musical alchemy.
Ball had developed a fascination with electronic instruments after watching the band Kraftwerk perform on a television science show Tomorrow's World, and started to marry dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second most popular song of 1981, selling 21 million copies globally. Alongside hits by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it helped cleared the way for the electronic music style of the 80s.
The song was also included on their first album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which spawned two additional high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the album up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at the second position in the following year.
Career Highlights
Success had its upsides. "I enjoyed being able to purchase my initial property, having money and travelling, which might seem like a beauty queen," Ball recently told with a publication.
But it also presented problems. "Sudden riches meant we could afford substances to relieve the boredom" of press appearances and TV performances, Ball said.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a valid cause, because it applies for so many bands."
Amidst the hedonistic lifestyle, the pair were also drifting apart, but they managed to create a follow-up classic album - the unconventional, edgy and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out one more LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group to focus on other projects.
Almond proceeded to have a prosperous solo career, including the top 10 hit 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.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell reunited in 2001, releasing the charting record Cruelty Without Beauty.
After another hiatus, they returned in 2018, releasing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was intended to be a final performance at the large venue on September 30, that year.
However, they remained active, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.
Ball recently characterized the duo's new album as a tribute to the NYC nightlife they visited while recording their initial records.
He noted that his time in medical care had influenced the group's music.
"I experienced 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 digital reflection of the sounds in my head from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences me and Marc had in the 1980s."
The final mixes were completed only days before Ball died. It is scheduled for release in Spring 2026.
