The talented musician, one half of the groundbreaking 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Together with singer Marc Almond, the pair achieved a global success with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in 1984, and their debut album their initial full-length release is regarded as a classic of electronic music.
He later formed the innovative electronic act The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with their 1994 single Swamp Thing.
Ball died calmly in his rest at his residence in London on Wednesday 22 October, only a short time after playing 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 wheelchair, as he had for the last two years, following a spate of health issues.
"I ended up damage myself significantly," he stated in a recent interview. "I broke lower vertebrae in my spine and fractured about multiple ribs and fractured my arm."
After catching pneumonia and suffering from blood poisoning, he was placed in an induced coma and remained in hospital for seven months.
However, he had been in "high spirits mentally" over the summer, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, called Danceteria, which is set for publication next year.
"He was concentrated and so happy with the latest project that we literally finished only a short time ago," said the singer in a heartfelt message.
"It's so sad as next year was completely planned to be such an uplifting year for him, and I take some solace from the knowledge that he listened to the finished record and believed that it was a great piece of work."
Tributes
Almond described his bandmate as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", adding: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our body of work.
"Many thanks Dave for being an significant part 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".
"Forming a duo 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 extraordinary, extraordinary, memorable experiences as a team. Many thanks, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a one-parent family in the city of Chester in the late 50s, Ball was put up for adoption when he was a year and a half of age.
He grew up in the seaside town with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who altered his given name from his birth name to David, together with his sibling Susan, who was also adopted.
He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in the late 70s, where they were both studying fine arts. Fuelled by a shared love of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the very year, and promptly produced an extended play.
Creative Collaboration
The duo were an distinctive pairing: Ball was the reserved technician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a charismatic showman, all glitter and eye-liner; but they achieved a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with synthesizers after watching the band Kraftwerk appear on a television science show a popular series, and started to combine moody electronic sounds to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.
Their signature song became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling single of the early 80s, selling 21 million copies globally. Together with hits by Gary Numan, Human League and electronic acts, it helped paved the path for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The track was also included on their full-length debut, their initial LP, which spawned two further high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the record up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at number two in 1982.
Professional Journey
Success had its upsides. "I loved being able to purchase my initial property, having financial security and exploring, which might seem like a beauty queen," Ball not long ago told with a music magazine.
But it also caused problems. "Sudden riches allowed we could purchase newfound drugs to alleviate the monotony" of media interviews and TV performances, Ball explained.
"I know that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a good reason, because it works for so many bands."
During the hedonistic lifestyle, the pair were also drifting apart, but they managed to create a second classic album - the wayward, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released another album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the group to concentrate on other projects.
Almond went on to have a successful solo career, including the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who combined acid house with melodic sounds over a enduring collaboration.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell came back together in the early 2000s, producing the Top 40 album Cruelty Without Beauty.
After a further hiatus, they returned in recent years, issuing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was intended to be a farewell show at the large venue on September 30, 2018.
However, they stayed together, recording their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.
Ball lately described the duo's upcoming release as a tribute to the New York club scene they visited while making their initial records.
He noted that his time in hospital had influenced the group's music.
"I had strange recollections 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 those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the times we had in the 1980s."
The final mixes were finished only a short time before Ball died. It is scheduled for launch in Spring 2026.
