The talented musician, a key member of the groundbreaking 1980s synth-pop duo Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the team scored a global success with their version of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a seminal work of electronic music.
He subsequently founded the pioneering electronic act The Grid, who achieved chart success with 1994's Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his rest at his residence in London on October 22, just weeks after performing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in the Thames-side town.
Recent Health Challenges
At that performance, Ball appeared in a wheelchair, as he had for the last two years, after a spate of ill-health.
"I ended up damage myself significantly," he commented in 2023. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my spine and cracked about multiple ribs and broke my wrist."
After catching pneumonia and developing sepsis, he was put in an induced coma and stayed in hospital for half a year.
Nevertheless, he had been in "a great place emotionally" over the warmer months, as he worked on a new album with Almond, called the upcoming Danceteria, which is scheduled for release next year.
"He was focused and so happy with the latest project that we literally completed only a short time ago," said the vocalist in a tribute.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was completely planned to be such an uplifting year for him, and I find comfort from the knowledge that he heard the finished record and felt that it was a masterpiece."
Tributes
Almond described his bandmate as "an exceptionally talented creative mastermind", stating: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our legacy.
"Many thanks Dave for being an significant aspect of my life 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".
"Being in a duo with someone is different from joining a band, the bond is very tight," he continued.
"That was the case with us. We went through so many extraordinary, extraordinary, life-affirming moments together. Thank you, Dave."
Formative Years
Born into a one-parent family in the city of Chester in 1959, Ball was put up for adoption when he was 18 months 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 his sister, who was similarly welcomed.
He met Almond at an art college in the late 70s, where they were both learning art. Inspired by a shared love of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the same year, and promptly recorded an EP.
Creative Collaboration
The pair were an unusual combination: Ball was the quiet musician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant showman, all glitter and makeup; but they achieved a unique creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with electronic instruments after viewing the band Kraftwerk appear on a television science show a popular series, and started to marry dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second most popular single of the early 80s, selling millions of units globally. Alongside hits by Gary Numan, Human League and electronic acts, it contributed to cleared the way for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.
The track was also featured on their first album, their initial LP, which spawned two further high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the record up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which peaked at number two in 1982.
Career Highlights
Success had its upsides. "I loved being able to purchase my initial property, having financial security and travelling, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball recently shared with a publication.
But it also presented challenges. "Newfound wealth allowed we could afford substances to relieve the boredom" of media interviews and TV performances, Ball explained.
"I realize that's a common saying, but it's a cliché for a valid cause, because it works for so many musicians."
Amidst the hedonistic lifestyle, the duo 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 released one more album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the band to focus on other projects.
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 ambient pop over a enduring collaboration.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, producing the charting album Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following another hiatus, they reappeared in 2018, issuing 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 September 30, 2018.
However, they remained together, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.
Ball recently described the band's new album as a tribute to the New York club scene they frequented while making their initial records.
He added that his time in medical care had influenced the group's music.
"I experienced strange recollections when I was in and out of the hospital because I was on morphine," he explained to a publication.
"Our latest tracks are a electronic representation of the noises in my mind from that time.
"In parallel, it's about the experiences me and Marc had in the 1980s."
The last versions were finished only a short time before Ball passed away. It is due for release in the spring of 2026.
