The talented musician, a key member of the groundbreaking 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Together with singer Marc Almond, the pair scored a global success with their version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their debut album their initial full-length release is regarded as a seminal work of synth-pop.
He later founded the pioneering electronic act The Grid, who achieved popular acclaim with their 1994 single the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball died peacefully in his sleep at his home in London on Wednesday 22 October, just weeks after playing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in the Thames-side town.
Recent Health Challenges
During that performance, Ball performed in a wheelchair, as he had for the last two years, after a period of ill-health.
"I managed to damage myself quite a bit," he commented in 2023. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my spine and cracked about five ribs and broke my arm."
After contracting a lung infection and suffering from blood poisoning, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and stayed in the hospital for seven months.
However, he had been in "a great place emotionally" during the warmer months, as he worked on a new album with Almond, titled the upcoming Danceteria, which is set for publication next year.
"He was concentrated and very pleased with the latest project that we literally finished only a short time ago," said the singer in a tribute.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was all set to be such an uplifting year for him, and I find comfort from the fact that he heard the completed album and felt that it was a great piece of work."
Tributes
Almond described his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", stating: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our body of work.
"Many thanks Dave for being an immense aspect of my life and for the music you created with me. I wouldn't be where I am without you."
Richard Norris from The Grid, also paid tribute, remembering Ball's "constant humor" and "steadfast support".
"Being in a partnership with someone is distinct from being in a band, the connection is incredibly close," he added.
"That's how it was with us. We went through so many remarkable, extraordinary, life-affirming moments together. Thank you, Dave."
Early Life
Born into a one-parent family in the city of Chester in 1959, Ball was put up for adoption when he was a year and a half old.
He grew up in the seaside town with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his given name from Paul to his adopted name, together with his sibling his sister, who was similarly welcomed.
He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in the late 70s, where they were both learning art. Inspired by a mutual passion of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and promptly recorded an extended play.
Creative Collaboration
The duo were an distinctive combination: Ball was the reserved technician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic showman, all sparkle and makeup; but they attained a unique creative synergy.
Ball had developed a fascination with synthesizers after watching the band Kraftwerk perform on BBC program a popular series, 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, shifting millions of copies worldwide. Together with hits by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it helped cleared the way for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The song was also included on their full-length debut, their initial LP, which produced two further top five hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the record up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which peaked at number two in the following year.
Career Highlights
Fame had its benefits. "I loved being able to afford my initial property, having financial security and exploring, which makes me sound like a Miss World," Ball recently shared with a music magazine.
But it also presented problems. "Sudden riches allowed we could afford substances to relieve the boredom" of press appearances and television shows, Ball explained.
"I know that's a common saying, but it's a truism for a valid cause, because it applies for so many musicians."
During the party-filled existence, the pair were also growing distant, but they succeeded to produce a follow-up memorable record - the wayward, edgy and fittingly named 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 went on to have a prosperous solo career, featuring the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who mixed acid house with melodic sounds over a enduring partnership.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, producing the charting 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 staging what was supposed to be a final performance at the large venue on 30 September, 2018.
Yet, they remained together, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.
Ball recently described the duo's new album as a tribute to the NYC nightlife they visited while recording their first two albums.
He noted that his time in hospital had shaped the band's sound.
"I had unusual memories when I was in and out of the hospital because I was on pain medication," he explained to a music magazine.
"Our latest tracks are a electronic representation of the sounds in my mind from that time.
"In parallel, it's about the times me and Marc got up to in the 1980s."
The last versions were finished only days before Ball died. It is due for release in the spring of 2026.
