The talented musician, a key member of the groundbreaking 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the duo achieved 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 founded the pioneering techno group The Grid, who achieved chart success with their 1994 single the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his rest at his home in London on October 22, just weeks after performing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in Henley-on-Thames.
Recent Health Challenges
During that performance, Ball appeared in a mobility chair, as he had for the last two years, following a spate of health issues.
"I managed to injure myself significantly," he commented in 2023. "I fractured spinal bones in my back and fractured about multiple ribs and broke my arm."
After contracting pneumonia and developing sepsis, he was placed in an induced coma and remained in hospital for seven months.
Nevertheless, he had been in "a great place mentally" over the summer, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, called Danceteria, which is set for release in the coming year.
"He was concentrated and very pleased with the new album that we actually completed only a few days ago," said the singer in a heartfelt message.
"It's so sad as next year was all set to be such an positive time for him, and I find comfort from the knowledge that he heard the finished record and felt that it was a great piece of work."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond referred to his collaborator as "an exceptionally talented musical genius", adding: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our body of work.
"Thank you Dave for being an immense part of my life and for the music you gave me. I couldn't be where I am without you."
Richard Norris from The Grid, also paid tribute, recalling Ball's "constant humor" and "unwavering friendship".
"Forming a duo with someone is distinct from joining a band, the bond is incredibly close," he added.
"That was the case with us. We went through so many remarkable, incredible, memorable moments as a team. Thank you, Dave."
Early Life
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 of age.
He grew up in the seaside town with adoptive parents his caregivers, who changed his first name from Paul to his adopted name, together with his younger sister Susan, who was similarly welcomed.
He met Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both studying fine arts. Inspired by a mutual passion of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the same year, and quickly recorded an EP.
Creative Collaboration
The pair were an unusual combination: Ball was the reserved technician, hunched over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic showman, all glitter and eye-liner; but they achieved a rare musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with electronic instruments after watching the band Kraftwerk perform on BBC program a popular series, and began to marry dark electronica to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.
Their signature song became the United Kingdom's second most popular single of 1981, selling 21 million units worldwide. Together with successful tracks by other artists, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it contributed to cleared the way for the electronic music style of the 80s.
The song was also featured on their full-length debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which spawned two additional high-charting hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the album up with the separate release, Torch, which peaked at the second position in 1982.
Professional Journey
Fame had its benefits. "I loved being able to afford my first home, having financial security and exploring, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball recently told with a music magazine.
But it also presented challenges. "Newfound wealth meant we could purchase newfound drugs to alleviate the monotony" of media interviews and TV performances, Ball said.
"I know that's a common saying, but it's a truism for a good reason, because it applies for so many bands."
During the hedonistic lifestyle, the duo were also growing distant, but they managed to create a follow-up classic album - the unconventional, edgy and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released another LP, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band to concentrate on other projects.
Almond went on 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.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell came back together in 2001, releasing the Top 40 album Cruelty Without Beauty.
After another break, they reappeared in recent years, issuing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was intended to be a farewell show at the O2 Arena on 30 September, that year.
Yet, they remained together, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.
Ball recently described the duo's new album as a homage to the New York club scene they frequented while making their initial records.
He added that his period in hospital had influenced the band's sound.
"I had strange recollections when I was in and out of the hospital because I was on pain medication," he told a publication.
"The new songs are a digital reflection of the noises in my mind from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences we got up to in the 80s."
The last versions were finished only a short time before Ball died. It is scheduled for release in the spring of 2026.
