The talented musician, one half of the groundbreaking 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the team scored a global success with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in 1984, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a seminal work of synth-pop.
He later formed the innovative electronic act The Grid, who achieved chart success with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully in his rest at his home in London on October 22, 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 show, Ball performed in a wheelchair, as he had for the previous couple of years, following a period of health issues.
"I managed to injure myself significantly," he commented in a recent interview. "I broke lower vertebrae in my spine and fractured about multiple ribs and broke my wrist."
Following catching pneumonia and suffering from blood poisoning, he was placed in an medically-induced sleep and remained in the hospital for seven months.
However, he had been in "a great place mentally" during the warmer months, as he was developing a new album with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is scheduled for release next year.
"He was focused and very pleased with the new album that we actually finished only a short time ago," said the vocalist in a heartfelt message.
"It's so sad as next year was all set to be such an uplifting year for him, and I find comfort from the knowledge that he heard the completed album and believed that it was a masterpiece."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond referred to his collaborator as "an exceptionally talented 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 immense part of my life and for the music you gave me. I wouldn't be where I am without you."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, also paid tribute, remembering Ball's "endless laughter" and "unwavering friendship".
"Forming a duo with someone is distinct from joining a group, the connection is incredibly close," he added.
"That was the case with us. We experienced so many remarkable, extraordinary, life-affirming moments together. Thank you, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a single-parent household in the city of Chester in the late 50s, Ball was given up for adoption when he was a year and a half old.
He was raised in the seaside town with his new family Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his first name from his birth name to his adopted name, alongside his sibling his sister, who was similarly welcomed.
He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in the late 70s, where they were both studying art. Inspired by a shared love of Northern Soul, they established Soft Cell the very year, and promptly produced an extended play.
Musical Partnership
The duo were an unusual pairing: Ball was the quiet musician, hunched over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all glitter and makeup; but they attained a rare creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with synthesizers after watching Kraftwerk appear on BBC program Tomorrow's World, and began to combine dark electronica to the catchy tunes Almond was composing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second most popular song of the early 80s, selling 21 million copies globally. Alongside hits by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it helped cleared the path for the synth-pop sound of the 80s.
The track was also included on their full-length debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which spawned two additional top five singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the album up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which peaked at the second position in the following year.
Career Highlights
Fame had its benefits. "I loved being able to purchase my first home, having financial security and travelling, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball not long ago shared with a publication.
But it also presented problems. "Newfound wealth allowed we could purchase substances to relieve the boredom" of media interviews and TV performances, Ball said.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a valid cause, because it works for so many musicians."
During the party-filled existence, the duo were also growing distant, but they managed to produce a follow-up memorable record - the wayward, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out one more LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the band to concentrate on individual endeavors.
Almond proceeded to have a successful solo career, featuring the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who mixed acid house with melodic sounds over a long-lasting partnership.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell reunited in 2001, producing the charting record Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following a further break, they returned in recent years, issuing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was supposed to be a farewell show at the O2 Arena on September 30, that year.
However, they stayed active, recording their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.
Ball lately characterized the duo's new album as a tribute to the NYC nightlife they frequented while recording their first two albums.
He added that his period in hospital had influenced the group's music.
"I experienced strange recollections when I was coming and going of the hospital because I was on morphine," he told a publication.
"The new songs are a electronic representation of the noises in my head from that time.
"In parallel, it's about the times we got up to in the 1980s."
The final mixes were finished only a short time before Ball passed away. It is due for launch in Spring 2026.
