The talented musician, one half of the innovative 1980s synth-pop band Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Alongside vocalist Marc Almond, the pair scored a global success with their version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in 1984, and their first record their initial full-length release is regarded as a seminal work of synth-pop.
He subsequently formed the innovative techno group The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with their 1994 single Swamp Thing.
Ball died peacefully in his rest at his home in London on Wednesday 22 October, only a short time after playing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in Henley-on-Thames.
Recent Health Challenges
During that show, Ball performed in a wheelchair, as he had for the last two years, following a spate of health issues.
"I ended up injure myself quite a bit," he commented in a recent interview. "I fractured spinal bones in my back and cracked about five ribs and fractured my arm."
After contracting a lung infection and developing sepsis, he was put in an induced coma and stayed in the hospital for half a year.
Nevertheless, he had been in "a great place emotionally" over the summer, as he was developing a new album with Almond, titled the upcoming Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication next year.
"He was concentrated and very pleased with the new album that we literally finished only a short time ago," stated the singer in a heartfelt message.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was completely planned to be such an positive time for him, and I take some solace from the knowledge that he heard the finished record and believed that it was a great piece of work."
Tributes
Almond described his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant musical genius", adding: "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 aspect of my life and for the music you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without you."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, shared his condolences, remembering Ball's "constant humor" and "steadfast support".
"Being in a duo with someone is different from being in a group, the connection is very tight," he continued.
"That was the case with us. We experienced so many remarkable, incredible, life-affirming experiences as a team. Many thanks, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a one-parent family in the city of Chester in 1959, Ball was given up for adoption when he was 18 months old.
He was raised in Blackpool with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who altered his given name from Paul to David, together with his sibling Susan, who was similarly welcomed.
He encountered Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both learning art. Fuelled by a shared love of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and promptly recorded an extended play.
Creative Collaboration
The duo were an unusual combination: Ball was the reserved technician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a charismatic showman, all glitter and eye-liner; but they attained a unique creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with electronic instruments after watching Kraftwerk perform on a television science show Tomorrow's World, and started to combine dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling single of 1981, shifting 21 million units worldwide. Alongside successful tracks by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it helped cleared the way for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.
The song was also included on their first album, their initial LP, which spawned two additional high-charting hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the album up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which peaked at number two in the following year.
Career Highlights
Success had its benefits. "I loved being able to afford my initial property, having financial security and exploring, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball recently shared with a music magazine.
But it also caused challenges. "Newfound wealth meant we could purchase substances to relieve the monotony" of media interviews and TV performances, Ball said.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a valid cause, because it works for so many musicians."
During the hedonistic lifestyle, the duo were also growing distant, but they succeeded to create a follow-up memorable record - the wayward, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released one more LP, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group to focus on individual endeavors.
Almond went on to have a successful solo career, featuring the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who combined dance music with ambient pop over a long-lasting collaboration.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell reunited in 2001, releasing the charting album Cruelty Without Beauty.
After another hiatus, they reappeared in 2018, 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 O2 Arena on September 30, 2018.
However, they remained active, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.
Ball recently characterized the duo's new album as a tribute to the NYC nightlife they visited while recording their first two albums.
He added that his period in medical care had influenced the band's sound.
"I experienced unusual memories when I was in and out of hospital because I was on morphine," he told a music magazine.
"Our latest tracks are a digital reflection of the noises in my head from that time.
"In parallel, it's about the experiences me and Marc had in the 80s."
The final mixes were finished only a short time before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for release in Spring 2026.
