The talented musician, one half of the pioneering 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the pair scored a worldwide hit with their version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their debut album their initial full-length release is regarded as a seminal work of synth-pop.
He subsequently formed the innovative techno group The Grid, who achieved popular acclaim with their 1994 single the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball died peacefully in his rest at his residence in London on October 22, just weeks after playing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in the Thames-side town.
Health Struggles
At that show, Ball performed in a wheelchair, as he had for the last two years, following a spate of health issues.
"I managed to injure myself significantly," he commented in a recent interview. "I fractured spinal bones in my back and cracked 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 half a year.
However, 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 publication next year.
"He was concentrated and very pleased with the latest project that we literally finished only a few days ago," said the vocalist in a heartfelt message.
"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 referred to his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant musical genius", stating: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our legacy.
"Thank you Dave for being an immense part of my existence 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 "steadfast support".
"Being in a partnership with someone is different from being in a band, the bond is very tight," he added.
"That was the case with us. We went through so many extraordinary, extraordinary, memorable experiences together. Thank you, Dave."
Formative Years
Brought into the world into a single-parent household in the city of Chester in 1959, Ball was put up for adoption when he was 18 months old.
He was raised in Blackpool with adoptive parents his caregivers, who altered his first name from Paul to David, together with his sibling his sister, who was similarly welcomed.
He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both learning fine arts. Inspired by a mutual passion of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the very year, and quickly recorded an extended play.
Creative Collaboration
The pair were an distinctive combination: Ball was the quiet musician, hunched over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all sparkle and makeup; but they attained a rare musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with synthesizers after viewing the band Kraftwerk appear on BBC science show Tomorrow's World, and started to marry dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.
Their signature song became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling song of 1981, shifting millions of units worldwide. Alongside successful tracks by Gary Numan, Human League and Ultravox, it contributed to cleared the way for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The track was also featured on their full-length debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which spawned two further top five singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the album up with the separate release, Torch, which peaked at the second position in the following year.
Professional Journey
Success had its upsides. "I enjoyed being able to purchase my initial property, having money and travelling, which might seem like a beauty queen," Ball not long ago told with a music magazine.
But it also presented problems. "Sudden riches meant we could purchase newfound drugs to alleviate the boredom" of press appearances and television shows, Ball explained.
"I know that's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a valid cause, because it applies for so many musicians."
During the hedonistic lifestyle, the duo were also growing distant, but they managed to create a second memorable record - the wayward, 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 group to concentrate on other projects.
Almond proceeded to have a successful individual path, including the top 10 hit 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 reunited in the early 2000s, releasing the charting record Cruelty Without Beauty.
After another hiatus, they returned in recent years, releasing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was intended to be a final performance at the large venue on 30 September, that year.
Yet, they remained active, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic restrictions.
Ball recently characterized the band's new album as a tribute to the New York club scene they frequented while making their initial records.
He added that his period in hospital had influenced the group's music.
"I had unusual memories when I was in and out of hospital because I was on morphine," he explained to a music magazine.
"The new songs are a electronic representation of the sounds in my head from those days.
"In parallel, it's about the experiences me and Marc got up to in the 80s."
The final mixes were completed only a short time before Ball died. It is scheduled for release in the spring of 2026.
