The talented musician, a key member of the groundbreaking 1980s synth-pop band Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Together with vocalist Marc Almond, the team scored a worldwide hit with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in 1984, and their debut album their initial full-length release is considered a seminal work of synth-pop.
He subsequently formed the innovative techno group The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with their 1994 single Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully in his sleep at his home in London on October 22, just weeks after performing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in Henley-on-Thames.
Health Struggles
During that show, Ball appeared in a wheelchair, as he had for the previous couple of years, following a spate of health issues.
"I managed to damage myself significantly," he stated in 2023. "I fractured spinal bones in my spine and cracked about multiple ribs and broke my arm."
Following catching a lung infection and suffering from sepsis, he was put in an induced coma and stayed in hospital for half a year.
Nevertheless, he had been in "a great place emotionally" over the warmer months, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, called Danceteria, which is set for release next year.
"He was focused and very pleased with the new album that we actually completed only a few days ago," stated the vocalist in a tribute.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was all set to be such an positive time for him, and I find comfort from the fact that he heard the completed album and felt that it was a masterpiece."
Tributes
Almond described his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", stating: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our body of work.
"Thank you Dave for being an significant aspect of my life and for the songs you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without your influence."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, shared his condolences, remembering Ball's "endless laughter" and "unwavering friendship".
"Being in a partnership with someone is distinct from being in a band, the connection is very tight," he continued.
"That's how it was with us. We went through so many extraordinary, incredible, life-affirming experiences as a team. Many thanks, 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 grew up in Blackpool with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who altered his given name from Paul to his adopted name, together with his sibling his sister, who was also adopted.
He met Almond at an art college in the late 70s, where they were both learning art. Inspired by a shared love of Northern Soul, they established Soft Cell the very year, and promptly produced an EP.
Musical Partnership
The duo were an unusual pairing: Ball was the quiet technician, hunched over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant showman, all glitter and eye-liner; but they achieved a rare creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with synthesizers after viewing Kraftwerk appear on a television program a popular series, and started to combine dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.
Their signature song became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling single of 1981, selling millions of 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 1980s.
The song was also featured on their full-length debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which produced two additional high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the album up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which peaked at the second position in 1982.
Career Highlights
Fame had its upsides. "I enjoyed being able to purchase 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 presented problems. "Newfound wealth meant we could purchase newfound drugs to alleviate the monotony" of press appearances and television shows, Ball said.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a good reason, because it applies for so many bands."
Amidst the hedonistic lifestyle, the duo were also growing distant, but they managed to create a second memorable record - the unconventional, tense and aptly-titled 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 went on to have a prosperous individual path, featuring the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who mixed dance music with melodic sounds over a enduring partnership.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, producing the Top 40 album Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following another hiatus, they reappeared in recent years, releasing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was supposed to be a final performance at the large venue on September 30, 2018.
However, they remained active, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.
Ball lately characterized the band's upcoming release as a homage to the New York club scene they visited while making their initial records.
He added that his period in hospital had shaped the band's sound.
"I experienced unusual memories when I was coming and going of the hospital because I was on pain medication," he explained to a publication.
"The new songs are a digital reflection of the sounds in my mind from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the times we had in the 80s."
The final mixes were completed only days before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for release in Spring 2026.
