The talented musician, a key member of the innovative 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Together with singer Marc Almond, the team scored a global success with their version of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a seminal work of electronic music.
He subsequently founded the pioneering electronic act The Grid, who achieved popular acclaim with their 1994 single Swamp Thing.
Ball died peacefully in his rest at his home in London on Wednesday 22 October, just weeks after playing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in Henley-on-Thames.
Recent Health Challenges
At that show, Ball performed in a mobility chair, as he had for the last two years, after a spate of health issues.
"I managed to injure myself significantly," he commented in 2023. "I broke lower vertebrae in my spine and fractured about five ribs and fractured my wrist."
Following catching a lung infection and suffering from blood poisoning, he was put in an induced coma and remained in the hospital for seven months.
However, he had been in "a great place emotionally" during the warmer months, as he worked on a new album with Almond, called Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication next year.
"He was focused and very pleased with the new album that we actually completed only a short time ago," stated the singer in a tribute.
"It's so sad as next year was all set to be such an positive year for him, and I take some solace from the fact that he heard the finished record and felt that it was a masterpiece."
Tributes
Almond referred to his collaborator 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 existence and for the music you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without you."
Richard Norris from The Grid, shared his condolences, remembering Ball's "constant humor" and "unwavering friendship".
"Forming a duo with someone is different from joining a group, the connection is incredibly close," he continued.
"That was the case with us. We went through so many remarkable, extraordinary, life-affirming moments as a team. Many thanks, Dave."
Early Life
Born into a one-parent family 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 his new family Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his first name from his birth name to his adopted name, together with his younger sister his sister, who was also adopted.
He encountered Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both learning art. Inspired by a mutual passion of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the very year, and promptly produced an EP.
Musical Partnership
The duo were an distinctive pairing: Ball was the quiet technician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all glitter and makeup; but they achieved a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had developed a interest with electronic instruments after watching Kraftwerk appear on a television science show Tomorrow's World, and began to marry moody electronic sounds to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.
Their signature song became the United Kingdom's second most popular single of 1981, selling millions of units globally. Together with successful tracks by other artists, Human League and electronic acts, 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 produced two further top five hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the album up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which reached at number two in the following year.
Career Highlights
Fame had its benefits. "I loved being able to purchase my initial property, having financial security and exploring, which might seem like a beauty queen," Ball recently shared with a publication.
But it also caused problems. "Sudden riches meant we could purchase newfound drugs to relieve the monotony" of press appearances and television shows, Ball said.
"I realize that's a common saying, but it's a truism for a valid cause, because it applies for so many musicians."
Amidst the party-filled existence, the pair were also growing distant, but they succeeded to produce a second classic album - the wayward, edgy and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released another album, 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, 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 collaboration.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell came back together in 2001, producing the charting 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 staging what was intended to be a farewell show at the O2 Arena on September 30, 2018.
However, they remained active, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.
Ball lately characterized the duo's new album as a tribute to the NYC nightlife they visited while making their first two albums.
He added that his period in medical care had shaped the group's music.
"I experienced strange recollections when I was in and out of the hospital because I was on morphine," he told a music magazine.
"Our latest tracks are a electronic representation of the sounds in my mind from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences we had in the 80s."
The last versions were completed only a short time before Ball died. It is due for launch in the spring of 2026.
