The talented musician, one half of the innovative 1980s synth-pop band Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Alongside vocalist Marc Almond, the duo achieved a worldwide hit with their version of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a classic of electronic music.
He subsequently formed the pioneering electronic act The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with their 1994 single Swamp Thing.
Ball died 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 Henley-on-Thames.
Health Struggles
At that show, Ball appeared in a wheelchair, as he had for the previous couple of years, after a spate of ill-health.
"I managed to damage myself quite a bit," he commented in 2023. "I fractured spinal bones in my back and cracked about multiple ribs and broke my wrist."
After catching pneumonia and developing blood poisoning, he was placed in an induced coma and stayed in hospital for half a year.
However, he had been in "a great place emotionally" during the summer, as he worked on a new album with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is scheduled for release in the coming year.
"He was concentrated and so happy with the new album that we actually completed only a few days 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 find comfort from the knowledge that he listened to the finished record and felt that it was a masterpiece."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond described his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", stating: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our legacy.
"Thank you Dave for being an significant aspect of my existence and for the music you gave me. I couldn't be where I am without your influence."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, also paid tribute, recalling Ball's "endless laughter" and "steadfast support".
"Forming a partnership with someone is different from being in a group, the connection is very tight," he added.
"That's how it was with us. We went through so many remarkable, incredible, memorable moments as a team. Many thanks, Dave."
Formative Years
Born into a single-parent household in the city of Chester in the late 50s, Ball was given up for adoption when he was 18 months old.
He was raised in the seaside town with his new family Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his first name from Paul to his adopted name, together with his younger sister Susan, who was also adopted.
He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in the late 70s, where they were both studying fine arts. Fuelled by a mutual passion of Northern Soul, 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, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant showman, all glitter and eye-liner; but they attained a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with synthesizers after watching the band Kraftwerk appear on a television program Tomorrow's World, and started to marry dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second biggest-selling single of 1981, shifting millions of units globally. Alongside successful tracks by Gary Numan, Human League and electronic acts, it helped paved the path for the electronic music style of the 80s.
The track was also included on their full-length debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which spawned two further top five singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the album up with the separate release, Torch, which peaked at number two in the following year.
Career Highlights
Success had its upsides. "I enjoyed being able to purchase my initial property, having financial security and exploring, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball recently told with a music magazine.
But it also caused problems. "Sudden riches allowed we could afford newfound drugs to relieve the monotony" of press appearances and TV performances, Ball explained.
"I know that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a valid cause, because it applies for so many musicians."
During the hedonistic lifestyle, the duo were also growing distant, but they succeeded to produce a second classic album - the unconventional, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out another album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group to focus on other projects.
Almond went on to have a prosperous solo career, featuring the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who combined dance music with melodic sounds over a long-lasting collaboration.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, releasing the Top 40 album Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following a further hiatus, they reappeared in recent years, releasing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was intended to be a final performance at the O2 Arena on September 30, 2018.
Yet, they stayed active, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.
Ball recently characterized the band's upcoming release as a tribute to the NYC nightlife they frequented while recording their initial records.
He noted that his time in hospital had influenced the group's music.
"I had strange recollections when I was in and out of the hospital because I was on morphine," he told a publication.
"Our latest tracks are a digital reflection of the noises in my mind from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the times me and Marc got up to in the 80s."
The last versions were completed only days before Ball died. It is scheduled for release in the spring of 2026.
