The talented musician, one half of the groundbreaking 1980s synth-pop band Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Together with singer Marc Almond, the team scored a global success with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a seminal work of electronic music.
He subsequently founded the pioneering techno group The Grid, who secured chart success with their 1994 single Swamp Thing.
Ball died peacefully in his rest at his residence in London on Wednesday 22 October, only a short time after performing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival 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 ended up damage myself quite a bit," he commented in a recent interview. "I broke lower vertebrae in my back and cracked about multiple ribs and broke my arm."
After contracting pneumonia and developing 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 warmer months, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, called Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication in the coming year.
"He was concentrated and very pleased with the latest project that we actually completed 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 positive time for him, and I take some solace from the fact that he heard the finished record and felt that it was a masterpiece."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond referred to 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 legacy.
"Many thanks Dave for being an significant aspect of my existence and for the music you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without you."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, shared his condolences, remembering Ball's "endless laughter" and "unwavering friendship".
"Forming a duo with someone is different from joining a band, the bond is incredibly close," he added.
"That was the case with us. We went through so many extraordinary, extraordinary, memorable moments 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 given up for adoption when he was 18 months old.
He was raised in the seaside town with adoptive parents his caregivers, who altered his given name from his birth name to his adopted name, together with his sibling his sister, who was also adopted.
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 formed Soft Cell the very year, and promptly produced an EP.
Creative Collaboration
The pair were an unusual combination: Ball was the quiet musician, bent over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all glitter and eye-liner; but they achieved a rare musical alchemy.
Ball had developed a fascination with synthesizers after watching Kraftwerk perform on a television program a popular series, and began to combine moody electronic sounds to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.
Their signature song became the UK's second biggest-selling song of the early 80s, shifting millions of units globally. Together with hits by other artists, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it contributed to cleared the way for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.
The track was also featured on their first album, their initial LP, which spawned two additional high-charting hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the record up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at the second position in 1982.
Professional Journey
Success had its benefits. "I loved being able to afford my first home, having financial security and travelling, which might seem like a beauty queen," Ball not long ago shared with a music magazine.
But it also caused challenges. "Sudden riches meant we could purchase substances to alleviate the monotony" of press appearances and TV performances, Ball explained.
"I realize that's a common saying, but it's a truism for a good reason, because it works for so many musicians."
Amidst the party-filled existence, the duo were also growing distant, but they managed to create a follow-up memorable record - the unconventional, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out one more LP, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the group to concentrate on other projects.
Almond proceeded 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 dance music with ambient pop over a enduring partnership.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, producing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following a further hiatus, they returned in 2018, releasing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was intended to be a farewell show at the O2 Arena on 30 September, 2018.
However, they remained together, recording their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.
Ball lately described the duo's upcoming release as a homage to the NYC nightlife they frequented while making their initial records.
He added that his time in medical care had influenced the group's music.
"I experienced unusual memories when I was coming and going of hospital because I was on morphine," he told a music magazine.
"The new songs are a electronic representation of the noises in my mind from those days.
"In parallel, it's about the times me and Marc had in the 1980s."
The last versions were finished only a short time before Ball passed away. It is due for release in Spring 2026.
