The talented musician, a key member of the pioneering 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Together with singer Marc Almond, the team achieved a global success with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in 1984, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a seminal work of electronic music.
He later founded the pioneering techno group The Grid, who achieved popular acclaim with their 1994 single the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully in his rest at his residence in London on Wednesday 22 October, only a short time after performing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in the Thames-side town.
Health Struggles
At that performance, Ball appeared in a mobility chair, as he had for the previous couple of years, following a period of ill-health.
"I managed to damage myself quite a bit," he commented in 2023. "I broke spinal bones in my spine and fractured about multiple ribs and fractured my arm."
After catching a lung infection and developing blood poisoning, he was put in an induced coma and stayed in hospital for half a year.
Nevertheless, he had been in "a great place emotionally" during the summer, as he was developing a fresh record with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication in the coming year.
"He was concentrated and so happy with the new album that we literally completed only a few days ago," stated the singer in a heartfelt message.
"It's so sad as next year was completely planned to be such an uplifting time for him, and I find comfort from the fact that he heard the finished record and believed that it was a masterpiece."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond described his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant musical genius", stating: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our body of work.
"Many thanks Dave for being an immense part of my life and for the music you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without you."
Richard Norris from The Grid, also paid tribute, recalling Ball's "constant humor" and "steadfast support".
"Being in a partnership with someone is different from being in a band, the connection is incredibly close," he continued.
"That was the case with us. We experienced so many remarkable, incredible, memorable experiences as a team. Many thanks, Dave."
Early Life
Born into a single-parent household in Chester in the late 50s, Ball was put up for adoption when he was 18 months old.
He was raised in the seaside town with adoptive parents his caregivers, who altered his given name from Paul to David, together with his younger sister Susan, who was also adopted.
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 formed Soft Cell the same year, and quickly recorded an EP.
Musical Partnership
The duo were an unusual pairing: Ball was the quiet technician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all sparkle and makeup; but they achieved a rare creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with electronic instruments after viewing the band Kraftwerk perform on BBC program Tomorrow's World, and began to marry dark electronica to the catchy tunes Almond was composing.
Their signature song became the United Kingdom's second most popular single of 1981, selling 21 million units worldwide. Alongside successful tracks by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it contributed to cleared the way for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The track was also included on their full-length debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which produced two additional top five singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the album up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at the second position in 1982.
Career Highlights
Success had its upsides. "I loved being able to afford my initial property, having money and travelling, which makes me sound like a Miss World," Ball recently shared with a publication.
But it also caused challenges. "Sudden riches allowed we could purchase substances to relieve the boredom" of press appearances and TV performances, Ball said.
"I know that's a common saying, but it's a cliché for a valid cause, because it applies for so many musicians."
During the party-filled existence, the duo were also growing distant, but they managed to create a follow-up memorable record - the unconventional, edgy and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released another LP, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the group to focus on other projects.
Almond went on to have a successful solo career, featuring the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who mixed acid house with ambient pop over a long-lasting partnership.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell reunited in 2001, releasing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following a further break, they reappeared in 2018, issuing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was intended to be a farewell show at the large venue on September 30, that year.
However, they stayed together, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.
Ball recently described the band's new album as a tribute to the New York club scene they visited while making their first two albums.
He noted that his period in medical care had influenced the group's music.
"I had unusual memories when I was coming and going of hospital because I was on pain medication," he explained to a publication.
"Our latest tracks are a electronic representation of the sounds in my mind from that time.
"Simultaneously, it's about the times me and Marc got up to in the 80s."
The final mixes were finished only a short time before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for launch in the spring of 2026.
