The talented musician, one half of the innovative 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Alongside vocalist Marc Almond, the duo scored a global success with their version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a seminal work of synth-pop.
He subsequently founded the innovative electronic act The Grid, who achieved popular acclaim with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball died peacefully in his rest at his home 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.
Health Struggles
During that performance, Ball appeared in a mobility chair, as he had for the last two years, following a spate of health issues.
"I managed to damage myself quite a bit," he commented in a recent interview. "I broke lower vertebrae in my spine and fractured about multiple ribs and broke my wrist."
After contracting a lung infection and developing blood poisoning, he was placed in an induced coma and stayed in hospital for seven months.
However, he had been in "high spirits emotionally" over the summer, as he was developing a new album with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is scheduled for release next year.
"He was concentrated and so happy with the new album that we actually completed only a few days ago," said the singer in a tribute.
"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 completed album and believed that it was a masterpiece."
Tributes
Almond referred to his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", adding: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our legacy.
"Thank you 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 you."
Richard Norris from The Grid, also paid tribute, remembering Ball's "endless laughter" and "unwavering friendship".
"Being in a partnership with someone is distinct from joining a band, the bond is very tight," he continued.
"That's how it was with us. We went through so many remarkable, extraordinary, memorable experiences as a team. Many thanks, 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 of age.
He was raised in Blackpool with his new family his caregivers, who altered his first name from Paul to his adopted name, alongside his sibling his sister, who was also adopted.
He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both studying art. Inspired by a mutual passion of Northern Soul, they formed Soft Cell the very year, and promptly recorded an extended play.
Creative Collaboration
The pair were an distinctive combination: Ball was the quiet musician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant showman, all glitter and makeup; but they attained a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had developed a fascination with synthesizers after watching Kraftwerk perform on BBC science show a popular series, and started to combine moody electronic sounds to the catchy tunes Almond was composing.
Their signature song became the UK's second most popular single of the early 80s, shifting 21 million units globally. Alongside hits by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it contributed to cleared the way for the electronic music style of the 80s.
The track was also featured on their first album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which spawned two further high-charting hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the album up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which peaked at the second position in 1982.
Professional Journey
Success had its benefits. "I loved being able to afford my first home, having money and exploring, which might seem like a beauty queen," Ball recently told with a music magazine.
But it also presented problems. "Newfound wealth allowed we could purchase newfound drugs to relieve the boredom" of press appearances and TV performances, Ball said.
"I realize that's a common saying, but it's a truism for a valid cause, because it applies for so many musicians."
During the hedonistic lifestyle, the pair were also growing distant, but they succeeded to create a follow-up classic album - the wayward, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released another LP, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the band to focus on other projects.
Almond went on to have a successful solo career, featuring the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who combined acid house with ambient pop over a enduring partnership.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell came back together in the early 2000s, producing the charting record Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following another break, they returned in recent years, releasing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was supposed to be a final performance at the large venue on September 30, that year.
Yet, they stayed active, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic restrictions.
Ball lately described the duo's upcoming release as a tribute to the NYC nightlife they frequented while recording their first two albums.
He added that his time in hospital had influenced the band's sound.
"I had 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 digital reflection of the noises in my head from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences me and Marc had in the 80s."
The last versions were finished only a short time before Ball died. It is due for release in the spring of 2026.
