The talented musician, a key member of the pioneering 1980s synth-pop band Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the pair achieved a worldwide hit with their cover of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in 1984, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a classic of electronic music.
He subsequently formed the pioneering electronic act The Grid, who achieved popular acclaim with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his sleep at his residence in London on Wednesday 22 October, just weeks after playing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in the Thames-side town.
Recent Health Challenges
During that show, Ball appeared in a mobility chair, as he had for the previous couple of years, following a spate of health issues.
"I ended up damage myself quite a bit," he stated in a recent interview. "I fractured spinal bones in my back and fractured about multiple ribs and fractured my arm."
Following contracting a lung infection and suffering from blood poisoning, he was put in an induced coma and remained in hospital for seven months.
Nevertheless, he had been in "a great place mentally" during the summer, as he was developing a new album with Almond, titled the upcoming Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication next year.
"He was focused and very pleased with the latest project that we actually completed only a few days ago," said the vocalist in a heartfelt message.
"It's so sad as next year was completely planned to be such an uplifting time for him, and I take some solace from the knowledge that he heard the completed album and felt that it was a great piece of work."
Tributes
Almond described his bandmate as "an exceptionally talented creative mastermind", adding: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our legacy.
"Thank you Dave for being an significant part of my life and for the songs you created with me. I wouldn't be where I am without your influence."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, also paid tribute, remembering Ball's "endless laughter" and "steadfast support".
"Being in a duo with someone is different from joining a group, the connection is incredibly close," he added.
"That was the case with us. We experienced so many extraordinary, incredible, memorable moments together. Many thanks, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world 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 was raised in the seaside town with adoptive parents his caregivers, who altered his first name from Paul to David, together with his younger sister his sister, who was similarly welcomed.
He met Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both studying fine arts. Inspired by a mutual passion of Northern Soul, they established Soft Cell the same year, and quickly recorded an EP.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an unusual combination: Ball was the reserved technician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all glitter and eye-liner; but they attained a rare creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with electronic instruments after viewing the band Kraftwerk appear on BBC program a popular series, and began to marry dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second most popular song of the early 80s, selling millions of units globally. Together with successful tracks by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it contributed to cleared the way for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The track was also featured on their first album, their initial LP, which produced two further high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the record up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at number two in 1982.
Career Highlights
Fame had its benefits. "I enjoyed being able to afford my first home, having money and travelling, which makes me sound like a Miss World," Ball not long ago shared with a music magazine.
But it also presented problems. "Newfound wealth meant we could afford substances to alleviate the boredom" of media interviews and television shows, Ball said.
"I know that's a common saying, but it's a cliché for a good reason, because it works for so many bands."
During the party-filled existence, the duo were also growing distant, but they managed to produce a second memorable record - the wayward, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out one more album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band to focus on other projects.
Almond went on to have a prosperous individual path, featuring the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who mixed dance music with ambient pop over a long-lasting collaboration.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, releasing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following another break, 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, 2018.
Yet, they remained active, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.
Ball recently described the duo'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 shaped the band's sound.
"I had unusual memories when I was in and out of hospital because I was on morphine," he explained to a music magazine.
"Our latest tracks are a electronic representation of the sounds in my mind from that time.
"Simultaneously, it's about the times me and Marc got up to in the 80s."
The last versions were finished only a short time before Ball passed away. It is due for release in the spring of 2026.
