The talented musician, a key member of the pioneering 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Alongside vocalist Marc Almond, the team scored a global success with their version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a classic of synth-pop.
He later founded the pioneering electronic act The Grid, who achieved popular acclaim with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his rest at his home 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 show, Ball performed in a mobility chair, as he had for the previous couple of years, following a spate of ill-health.
"I managed to injure myself quite a bit," he commented in a recent interview. "I fractured spinal bones in my spine and fractured about multiple ribs and fractured my arm."
Following catching a lung infection and developing sepsis, he was put in an induced coma and remained in the hospital for seven months.
However, he had been in "high spirits emotionally" during the summer, as he was developing a new album with Almond, called Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication next year.
"He was concentrated and so happy with the latest project that we literally finished only a short time ago," said the singer 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 fact that he heard the completed album and believed that it was a masterpiece."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond described his collaborator as "an exceptionally talented musical genius", adding: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our body of work.
"Thank you 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, recalling Ball's "constant humor" and "steadfast support".
"Being in a duo with someone is distinct from being in a group, the connection is incredibly close," he continued.
"That's how it was with us. We experienced so many remarkable, incredible, life-affirming moments together. Thank you, Dave."
Early Life
Born into a single-parent household in Chester in the late 50s, Ball was put up for adoption when he was a year and a half old.
He grew up in Blackpool with adoptive parents his caregivers, who altered his given name from his birth name to his adopted name, alongside his younger sister Susan, who was similarly welcomed.
He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both learning art. Inspired by a shared love of Northern Soul, they established Soft Cell the very year, and quickly recorded an extended play.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an distinctive combination: Ball was the reserved musician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant showman, all sparkle and makeup; but they achieved a rare creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with electronic instruments after viewing the band Kraftwerk perform on a television science show Tomorrow's World, and began to marry moody electronic sounds to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.
Their signature song became the United Kingdom's second most popular single of 1981, selling millions of copies worldwide. Together with hits by Gary Numan, Human League and Ultravox, it contributed to cleared the way for the electronic music style of the 80s.
The song was also featured on their first album, their initial LP, which produced two further top five singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the record up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which peaked at number two in 1982.
Career Highlights
Success had its benefits. "I loved being able to afford my first home, having money and exploring, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball recently shared with a publication.
But it also presented problems. "Newfound wealth meant we could purchase newfound drugs to relieve the monotony" of press appearances and television shows, Ball said.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a valid cause, because it works for so many bands."
During the party-filled existence, the pair were also drifting apart, but they managed to produce a follow-up classic album - the wayward, edgy and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out one more album, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group to concentrate on individual endeavors.
Almond proceeded to have a prosperous solo career, featuring the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who combined dance music with ambient pop over a enduring partnership.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell came back together in 2001, releasing the charting record Cruelty Without Beauty.
After a further break, they returned in 2018, 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.
Yet, they remained active, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.
Ball lately described the band's new album as a homage to the New York club scene they visited while making their initial records.
He added that his period in medical care had influenced the band's sound.
"I had unusual memories when I was coming and going of hospital because I was on morphine," he told a publication.
"The new songs are a electronic representation of the sounds in my head from those days.
"In parallel, it's about the times me and Marc had in the 80s."
The last versions were completed only days before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for release in Spring 2026.
