The talented musician, one half of the innovative 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Together with vocalist Marc Almond, the pair scored a worldwide hit with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a classic of electronic music.
He later formed the pioneering electronic act The Grid, who achieved 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 performing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in the Thames-side town.
Recent Health Challenges
At that performance, Ball performed in a wheelchair, as he had for the previous couple of years, after a period of ill-health.
"I ended up injure myself quite a bit," he commented in a recent interview. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my back and fractured about five ribs and fractured my wrist."
Following contracting pneumonia and developing sepsis, he was placed in an medically-induced sleep and remained in the hospital for half a year.
However, he had been in "a great place mentally" during the summer, as he was developing a new album with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is set for release in the coming year.
"He was concentrated and very pleased with the new album that we actually completed only a few days ago," said the singer in a heartfelt message.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was all set to be such an uplifting time for him, and I find comfort from the knowledge that he listened to the finished record and felt that it was a great piece of work."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond described his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant musical genius", stating: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our legacy.
"Many thanks Dave for being an significant part of my life and for the music you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without your influence."
Richard Norris from The Grid, shared his condolences, recalling Ball's "constant humor" and "unwavering friendship".
"Being in a partnership with someone is distinct from being in a group, the connection is very tight," he continued.
"That's how it was with us. We went through so many remarkable, extraordinary, memorable moments together. Many thanks, Dave."
Formative Years
Born into a single-parent household in the city of Chester in the late 50s, Ball was put up for adoption when he was 18 months of age.
He grew up in Blackpool with adoptive parents his caregivers, who altered his first name from Paul to David, alongside his sibling Susan, who was also adopted.
He encountered Almond at an art college in the late 70s, where they were both learning fine arts. Inspired by a mutual passion of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the same year, and promptly produced an extended play.
Creative Collaboration
The duo were an unusual combination: Ball was the reserved musician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant showman, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they achieved a rare creative synergy.
Ball had developed a interest with electronic instruments after viewing the band Kraftwerk appear on a television program a popular series, and began to marry moody electronic sounds to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second most popular song of 1981, selling millions of copies globally. Alongside hits by Gary Numan, Human League and Ultravox, it contributed to cleared the path for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The song was also included on their full-length debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which spawned two further top five singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the record up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at the second position in the following year.
Professional Journey
Fame had its benefits. "I loved being able to purchase my initial property, having financial security and travelling, which might seem like a beauty queen," Ball recently shared with a publication.
But it also presented challenges. "Newfound wealth meant we could purchase newfound drugs to relieve the boredom" of press appearances and television shows, Ball explained.
"I know that's a cliché, but it's a cliché 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 create a follow-up classic album - the wayward, edgy and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released another album, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band to concentrate on individual endeavors.
Almond went on to have a prosperous 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 long-lasting collaboration.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell came back together in the early 2000s, producing the charting album Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following another break, they reappeared in recent years, releasing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was supposed to be a farewell show at the large venue on 30 September, 2018.
Yet, they remained active, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.
Ball lately characterized the duo's new album as a homage to the New York club scene they visited while making their initial records.
He added that his period in medical care had shaped the group's music.
"I experienced strange recollections when I was coming and going of hospital because I was on morphine," he told a music magazine.
"The new songs are a electronic representation of the sounds in my mind from those days.
"In parallel, it's about the experiences we had in the 80s."
The last versions were completed only days before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for release in Spring 2026.
