The talented musician, a key member of the innovative 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Alongside vocalist Marc Almond, the duo scored a global success with their cover of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a seminal work of electronic music.
He later founded the innovative techno group The Grid, who achieved popular acclaim with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball died peacefully in his rest at his home in London on October 22, just weeks 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, following a spate of ill-health.
"I managed to injure myself quite a bit," he commented in 2023. "I broke spinal bones in my spine and cracked about five ribs and broke my wrist."
Following catching pneumonia and suffering from blood poisoning, he was placed in an induced coma and stayed in hospital for seven months.
However, he had been in "high spirits emotionally" during the warmer months, as he was developing a new album with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is set for publication in the coming year.
"He was concentrated and so happy with the new album that we actually finished only a short time 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 find comfort from the fact that he heard the completed album and believed that it was a great piece of work."
Tributes
Almond described his bandmate as "a wonderfully brilliant musical genius", stating: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our body of work.
"Many thanks Dave for being an significant part of my existence and for the songs you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without your influence."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, also paid tribute, remembering Ball's "endless laughter" and "steadfast support".
"Being in a partnership with someone is different from joining a band, the connection is incredibly close," he added.
"That was the case with us. We went through so many extraordinary, incredible, life-affirming moments as a team. Thank you, Dave."
Early Life
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 of age.
He grew up in the seaside town with his new family his caregivers, who changed his first name from Paul to his adopted name, alongside his sibling Susan, who was also adopted.
He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both studying fine arts. Inspired by a mutual passion of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the very year, and promptly produced an EP.
Creative Collaboration
The pair were an unusual pairing: Ball was the quiet musician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all sparkle and makeup; but they attained a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had developed a fascination with electronic instruments after watching Kraftwerk appear on BBC science show Tomorrow's World, and started to combine dark electronica to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second biggest-selling song of 1981, selling 21 million copies worldwide. Together with hits by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it helped cleared the way for the synth-pop sound of the 80s.
The song was also included on their first album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which produced two additional high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the album up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at the second position in 1982.
Career Highlights
Fame had its upsides. "I enjoyed being able to afford my initial property, having financial security and travelling, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball recently told with a music magazine.
But it also caused challenges. "Sudden riches meant we could purchase substances to alleviate the boredom" of press appearances and TV performances, Ball explained.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a good reason, because it works for so many bands."
During the party-filled existence, the pair were also drifting apart, 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 album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band to concentrate on individual endeavors.
Almond went on to have a prosperous solo career, featuring the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who combined acid house with melodic sounds over a long-lasting partnership.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell came back together in 2001, releasing the Top 40 album Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following another break, they returned in recent years, releasing 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, 2018.
Yet, they stayed active, recording their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic restrictions.
Ball recently characterized the duo's new album as a homage to the New York club scene they visited while recording their initial records.
He added that his period in medical care had shaped the band's sound.
"I experienced unusual memories when I was in and out of the hospital because I was on pain medication," 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 experiences me and Marc got up to in the 1980s."
The final mixes were finished only a short time before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for release in the spring of 2026.
