The talented musician, a key member of the pioneering 1980s synth-pop duo Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the team scored a global success with their version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in 1984, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a seminal work of electronic music.
He subsequently formed the innovative techno group The Grid, who secured chart success with 1994's Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away 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 music event in the Thames-side town.
Health Struggles
At that show, Ball performed in a wheelchair, as he had for the previous couple of years, following a spate of health issues.
"I ended up injure myself quite a bit," he stated in a recent interview. "I fractured spinal bones in my back and fractured about five ribs and fractured my arm."
After contracting pneumonia and developing sepsis, he was put in an induced coma and stayed in the hospital for seven months.
Nevertheless, he had been in "a great place mentally" over the warmer months, as he was developing a fresh record with Almond, called the upcoming Danceteria, which is scheduled for release in the coming year.
"He was concentrated and very pleased with the latest project that we literally completed only a short time ago," stated the singer in a tribute.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was completely planned to be such an positive year for him, and I take some solace from the knowledge that he heard the finished record and believed that it was a great piece of work."
Tributes
Almond described his bandmate as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", adding: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our legacy.
"Thank you Dave for being an immense aspect of my life and for the songs you created with me. I wouldn't be where I am without you."
Richard Norris from The Grid, shared his condolences, remembering Ball's "constant humor" and "unwavering friendship".
"Being in a duo with someone is different from being in a band, the bond is incredibly close," he added.
"That was the case with us. We went through so many extraordinary, extraordinary, life-affirming moments together. Many thanks, Dave."
Formative Years
Brought into the world into a single-parent household in the city of Chester in the late 50s, Ball was put up for adoption when he was a year and a half of age.
He was raised in the seaside town with his new family his caregivers, who changed his first name from Paul to David, together with his younger sister Susan, who was similarly welcomed.
He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in the late 70s, where they were both studying fine arts. Inspired by a shared love of Northern Soul, they formed Soft Cell the very year, and quickly produced an extended play.
Musical Partnership
The duo were an distinctive combination: Ball was the quiet technician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all glitter and eye-liner; but they attained a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with synthesizers after viewing the band Kraftwerk appear on BBC science show Tomorrow's World, and began to marry dark electronica to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.
Their signature song became the UK's second biggest-selling song of 1981, selling 21 million copies globally. Together with hits by other artists, Human League and electronic acts, it helped cleared the path for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.
The track was also included on their first album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which spawned two additional top five hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the album up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which reached at the second position in 1982.
Career Highlights
Fame had its benefits. "I loved being able to afford my first home, having money and travelling, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball not long ago shared 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 explained.
"I know that's a common saying, but it's a truism for a good reason, because it applies for so many musicians."
During the hedonistic lifestyle, the duo were also growing distant, but they succeeded to produce a follow-up classic album - the wayward, edgy and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released one more LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group to concentrate on other projects.
Almond proceeded to have a successful individual path, including the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who mixed acid house with ambient pop over a long-lasting partnership.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell came back together in 2001, releasing the charting record Cruelty Without Beauty.
After another hiatus, they returned in recent years, issuing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was intended to be a farewell show at the large venue on 30 September, that year.
Yet, they remained together, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic restrictions.
Ball recently described the duo's new album as a homage to the NYC nightlife they visited while making their first two albums.
He noted that his period in medical care had influenced the band's sound.
"I experienced unusual memories when I was coming and going of the hospital because I was on pain medication," he told 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 got up to in the 1980s."
The last versions were finished only a short time before Ball passed away. It is due for launch in the spring of 2026.
