The talented musician, a key member of the pioneering 1980s synth-pop band Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Alongside vocalist Marc Almond, the pair scored a global success with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a classic of electronic music.
He later formed the pioneering techno group The Grid, who secured chart success with 1994's Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully in his rest at his home in London on October 22, just weeks after performing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in Henley-on-Thames.
Recent Health Challenges
During that show, Ball performed in a mobility chair, as he had for the last two years, following a period of ill-health.
"I managed to injure myself significantly," he stated in 2023. "I fractured spinal bones in my back and fractured about multiple ribs and fractured my arm."
Following contracting a lung infection and suffering from sepsis, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and remained in the hospital for half a year.
However, he had been in "high spirits emotionally" during the summer, as he was developing a fresh record with Almond, called Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication next year.
"He was focused and very pleased with the new album that we literally finished only a short time ago," stated the vocalist in a tribute.
"It's so sad as next year was completely planned to be such an positive year for him, and I take some solace from the fact that he listened to the completed album and believed that it was a great piece of work."
Tributes
Almond referred to his collaborator as "an exceptionally talented creative mastermind", adding: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our body of work.
"Thank you Dave for being an significant part 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, also paid tribute, recalling Ball's "constant humor" and "steadfast support".
"Forming a partnership with someone is distinct from joining a band, the connection is incredibly close," he added.
"That's how it was with us. We experienced so many extraordinary, extraordinary, memorable moments as a team. Thank you, Dave."
Formative Years
Brought into the world into a single-parent household in the city of Chester in 1959, Ball was put up for adoption when he was a year and a half old.
He was raised in Blackpool with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who altered 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 a music genre, they established Soft Cell the very year, and quickly recorded an extended play.
Musical Partnership
The duo were an distinctive combination: Ball was the quiet musician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they achieved a rare musical alchemy.
Ball had developed a interest with electronic instruments after viewing Kraftwerk appear on BBC science show Tomorrow's World, and began to marry moody electronic sounds to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.
Their signature song became the United Kingdom's second most popular single of the early 80s, shifting millions of units worldwide. Together with hits by other artists, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it contributed to paved the way for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The song was also featured on their first album, their initial LP, which produced two additional high-charting hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the record up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which reached at the second position in the following year.
Professional Journey
Fame had its upsides. "I loved being able to afford my first home, having money and travelling, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball recently shared with a publication.
But it also caused challenges. "Newfound wealth meant we could afford 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 valid cause, because it works for so many musicians."
During the hedonistic lifestyle, the duo were also drifting apart, but they succeeded to create a follow-up classic album - the unconventional, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released one more album, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the band to focus on individual endeavors.
Almond proceeded to have a successful solo career, including the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who mixed acid house with ambient pop over a enduring partnership.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, releasing the charting album Cruelty Without Beauty.
After a further break, they returned in recent years, releasing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was intended to be a final performance at the large venue on 30 September, 2018.
Yet, they remained together, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.
Ball recently described the duo's new album as a tribute to the NYC nightlife they frequented while making their initial records.
He noted that his period in hospital had influenced the band's sound.
"I had unusual memories when I was coming and going of hospital because I was on morphine," he told a music magazine.
"Our latest tracks are a electronic representation of the sounds in my head from that time.
"Simultaneously, it's about the times me and Marc got up to in the 80s."
The last versions were finished only a short time before Ball passed away. It is due for release in Spring 2026.
