The talented musician, one half of the groundbreaking 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Alongside vocalist Marc Almond, the team achieved a worldwide hit with their version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a seminal work of electronic music.
He subsequently founded the innovative techno group The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with 1994's Swamp Thing.
Ball died calmly in his rest at his home in London on October 22, only a short time after playing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in Henley-on-Thames.
Recent Health Challenges
During that show, Ball appeared 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 stated in 2023. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my back and cracked about multiple ribs and fractured my arm."
After catching a lung infection and suffering from sepsis, he was placed in an induced coma and remained in hospital for half a year.
However, he had been in "high spirits mentally" during the summer, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, called the upcoming Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication next year.
"He was focused and so happy with the latest project that we actually finished only a few days ago," stated the singer in a heartfelt message.
"It's so sad as next year was all set to be such an positive time for him, and I find comfort from the fact that he listened to the completed album and felt that it was a masterpiece."
Tributes
Almond described his bandmate as "an exceptionally talented musical genius", adding: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our body of work.
"Many thanks Dave for being an immense part of my life and for the music you gave me. I couldn't be where I am without you."
Richard Norris from The Grid, shared his condolences, remembering Ball's "endless laughter" and "unwavering friendship".
"Forming a duo with someone is distinct from being in a group, the bond is very tight," he added.
"That was the case with us. We went through so many extraordinary, incredible, life-affirming moments as a team. Thank you, Dave."
Formative Years
Brought into the world into a one-parent family in the city of Chester in the late 50s, Ball was put up for adoption when he was 18 months old.
He grew up in the seaside town with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his given name from his birth name to his adopted name, together with his younger sister his sister, who was also adopted.
He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in the late 70s, where they were both studying art. Fuelled by a mutual passion of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the very year, and promptly produced an extended play.
Creative Collaboration
The duo were an distinctive combination: Ball was the reserved technician, bent over his synthesizer, 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 perform on a television program Tomorrow's World, and started to combine dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second most popular single of 1981, selling 21 million units worldwide. Alongside successful tracks by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and Ultravox, it contributed to cleared the path for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The song was also included on their full-length debut, their initial LP, which spawned two additional high-charting hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the album up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at the second position in 1982.
Professional Journey
Fame had its benefits. "I enjoyed being able to purchase my first home, having financial security and exploring, which makes me sound like a Miss World," Ball recently told with a music magazine.
But it also caused challenges. "Sudden riches allowed we could purchase substances to relieve the monotony" of press appearances and TV performances, Ball said.
"I realize that's a common saying, but it's a truism for a good reason, because it works for so many musicians."
Amidst the hedonistic lifestyle, the duo were also drifting apart, but they succeeded 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 ending the band to focus on individual endeavors.
Almond proceeded to have a prosperous individual path, including the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who mixed dance music with ambient pop over a enduring collaboration.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell reunited in 2001, releasing the Top 40 album Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following a further hiatus, they returned in 2018, issuing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was intended to be a farewell show at the large venue on 30 September, that year.
Yet, they remained together, recording their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.
Ball recently described the duo's new album as a tribute to the New York club scene they frequented while making their initial records.
He added that his time in hospital had influenced the group's music.
"I had unusual memories when I was coming and going of the hospital because I was on pain medication," 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 times me and Marc had in the 1980s."
The last versions were completed only a short time before Ball passed away. It is due for release in Spring 2026.
