The talented musician, one half of the innovative 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Alongside vocalist Marc Almond, the pair achieved a global success with their version of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in 1984, and their debut album their initial full-length release is considered a seminal work of electronic music.
He later founded the innovative electronic act The Grid, who achieved popular acclaim with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball died calmly in his rest at his residence in London on Wednesday 22 October, just weeks after performing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in the Thames-side town.
Recent Health Challenges
At that performance, Ball appeared in a mobility chair, as he had for the previous couple of years, after a period of ill-health.
"I ended up damage myself quite a bit," he commented in a recent interview. "I broke spinal bones in my spine and cracked about multiple ribs and fractured my arm."
After contracting pneumonia and developing sepsis, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and remained in hospital for half a year.
However, he had been in "a great place mentally" during the warmer months, as he worked on a new album with Almond, titled the upcoming Danceteria, which is scheduled for release next year.
"He was focused and very pleased with the new album that we literally finished only a few days ago," stated the vocalist in a heartfelt message.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was all set to be such an uplifting year for him, and I find comfort from the knowledge that he listened to the finished record and believed that it was a masterpiece."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond described his bandmate as "an exceptionally talented creative mastermind", adding: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our body of work.
"Many thanks Dave for being an significant aspect of my life and for the songs you gave me. I wouldn't be where I am without you."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, shared his condolences, remembering Ball's "endless laughter" and "unwavering friendship".
"Being in a duo with someone is distinct from joining a group, the connection is very tight," he continued.
"That was the case with us. We went through so many remarkable, incredible, life-affirming experiences together. Thank you, Dave."
Formative Years
Brought into the world into a single-parent household in Chester in the late 50s, Ball was put up for adoption when he was a year and a half old.
He was raised in the seaside town with his new family his caregivers, who changed his first name from his birth name to David, alongside his younger sister Susan, who was similarly welcomed.
He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in the late 70s, where they were both learning fine arts. Fuelled by a mutual passion of Northern Soul, 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 musician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant showman, all sparkle and makeup; but they attained a unique creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with synthesizers after viewing the band Kraftwerk perform on BBC science show a popular series, and began to combine dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling single of 1981, selling 21 million units globally. Alongside hits by other artists, Human League and Ultravox, it helped paved 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 produced two further high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the album up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which reached at number two in the following year.
Professional Journey
Fame had its benefits. "I enjoyed being able to afford my initial property, having financial security and travelling, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball not long ago told with a music magazine.
But it also presented problems. "Newfound wealth meant we could afford newfound drugs to alleviate the monotony" of press appearances and TV performances, Ball explained.
"I know that's a common saying, but it's a truism for a good reason, because it applies for so many musicians."
During the hedonistic lifestyle, the duo were also drifting apart, but they managed to create a second classic album - the wayward, 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 concentrate on individual endeavors.
Almond proceeded to have a successful individual path, including the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who combined dance music with melodic sounds over a long-lasting partnership.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell reunited in 2001, producing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.
After a further hiatus, they reappeared in 2018, issuing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was intended to be a farewell show at the O2 Arena on 30 September, that year.
Yet, they stayed together, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.
Ball recently characterized the band's new album as a tribute to the New York club scene they visited while recording their first two albums.
He noted that his period in medical care had shaped the group's music.
"I experienced unusual memories when I was coming and going of the hospital because I was on pain medication," he explained to a publication.
"Our latest tracks are a electronic representation of the noises in my mind from that time.
"Simultaneously, it's about the times me and Marc had in the 1980s."
The last versions were completed only days before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for release in Spring 2026.
