The talented musician, a key member of the pioneering 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Together with vocalist Marc Almond, the team achieved a global success with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in 1984, and their debut album their initial full-length release is considered a classic of synth-pop.
He subsequently founded the innovative techno group The Grid, who achieved chart success with their 1994 single Swamp Thing.
Ball died calmly in his sleep at his home in London on October 22, just weeks after performing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in the Thames-side town.
Health Struggles
At that performance, Ball appeared in a wheelchair, as he had for the previous couple of years, following a spate of ill-health.
"I ended up damage myself significantly," he stated in 2023. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my back and cracked about five ribs and broke my arm."
After contracting pneumonia and developing sepsis, he was put in an induced coma and stayed in the hospital for seven months.
However, he had been in "a great place mentally" over the summer, as he worked on a new album with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication in the coming year.
"He was focused and so happy with the new album that we literally completed only a few days ago," stated the vocalist in a tribute.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was all set to be such an positive year for him, and I find comfort from the fact that he heard the finished record and believed that it was a masterpiece."
Tributes
Almond referred to his bandmate as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", adding: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our legacy.
"Thank you Dave for being an significant part of my existence and for the songs you gave me. I couldn't be where I am without your influence."
Richard Norris from The Grid, shared his condolences, recalling Ball's "endless laughter" and "steadfast support".
"Forming a duo with someone is different from joining a group, the bond is incredibly close," he added.
"That's how it was with us. We experienced so many remarkable, incredible, life-affirming experiences together. Many thanks, Dave."
Early Life
Born into a single-parent household in Chester in 1959, Ball was given up for adoption when he was a year and a half old.
He grew up in Blackpool with his new family Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his given name from Paul to his adopted name, together with his younger sister Susan, who was also adopted.
He encountered Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both learning fine arts. Inspired by a shared love of Northern Soul, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and promptly produced an EP.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an distinctive combination: Ball was the reserved technician, hunched over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all glitter and eye-liner; but they attained a unique creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with electronic instruments after watching Kraftwerk appear on a television program a popular series, 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, shifting millions of units globally. Alongside successful tracks by other artists, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it contributed to cleared the way for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The track was also featured on their full-length debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which produced two further top five hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the album up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which reached at number two in the following year.
Career Highlights
Fame had its benefits. "I loved being able to purchase my first home, having money and travelling, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball not long ago told with a publication.
But it also caused problems. "Newfound wealth allowed we could purchase substances to relieve the boredom" of press appearances and television shows, Ball explained.
"I realize 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 produce a follow-up memorable record - the unconventional, edgy and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released one more album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the group to focus on other projects.
Almond went on to have a successful individual path, featuring the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who mixed acid house with melodic sounds over a enduring partnership.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell came back together in the early 2000s, producing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.
After another hiatus, they reappeared in 2018, issuing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was supposed to be a final performance at the O2 Arena on 30 September, 2018.
Yet, they remained active, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.
Ball recently described the band's new album as a homage to the NYC nightlife they visited while making their initial records.
He noted that his time in hospital had influenced the band's sound.
"I experienced strange recollections when I was coming and going of the hospital because I was on pain medication," he told a music magazine.
"The new songs are a electronic representation of the noises in my head from those days.
"In parallel, it's about the times we had in the 1980s."
The last versions were completed only a short time before Ball passed away. It is due for release in the spring of 2026.
