The talented musician, a key member of the innovative 1980s synth-pop band 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 considered a seminal work of synth-pop.
He later founded the innovative techno group The Grid, who achieved popular acclaim with their 1994 single Swamp Thing.
Ball died calmly in his rest at his home in London on October 22, just weeks after playing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in Henley-on-Thames.
Health Struggles
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 managed to injure myself significantly," he commented in a recent interview. "I broke lower vertebrae in my back and cracked about multiple ribs and broke my wrist."
Following catching a lung infection and suffering from blood poisoning, he was placed in an medically-induced sleep and remained in the hospital for seven months.
Nevertheless, he had been in "a great place emotionally" during the summer, as he was developing a fresh record with Almond, titled the upcoming Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication in the coming year.
"He was concentrated and very pleased with the new album that we actually completed only a few days ago," stated the singer 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 listened to the finished record and believed that it was a masterpiece."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond referred to his bandmate as "a wonderfully brilliant musical genius", adding: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our legacy.
"Many thanks Dave for being an immense part of my existence and for the songs you gave me. I couldn't be where I am without you."
Richard Norris from The Grid, shared his condolences, recalling Ball's "constant humor" and "steadfast support".
"Forming a duo with someone is distinct from joining a band, the connection is very tight," he continued.
"That was the case with us. We experienced so many remarkable, incredible, memorable experiences together. Many thanks, Dave."
Formative Years
Brought into the world into a one-parent family in Chester in 1959, Ball was given up for adoption when he was 18 months of age.
He grew up in Blackpool with adoptive parents his caregivers, who changed his first name from his birth name to David, alongside his sibling his sister, who was similarly welcomed.
He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both studying fine arts. 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 unusual combination: Ball was the reserved technician, hunched over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they attained a rare creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with synthesizers after viewing the band Kraftwerk appear on a television program Tomorrow's World, and began to marry dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling song of 1981, selling 21 million copies globally. Alongside hits by other artists, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it contributed to paved the way for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.
The song was also featured on their first album, their initial LP, which produced two further high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the album up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which peaked at number two in the following year.
Professional Journey
Fame had its benefits. "I enjoyed being able to purchase my initial property, having financial security and travelling, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball not long ago told with a publication.
But it also caused problems. "Sudden riches allowed we could purchase newfound drugs to relieve the boredom" of press appearances and TV performances, Ball said.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a good reason, because it applies for so many bands."
During the party-filled existence, the pair were also growing distant, but they succeeded to create a second memorable record - the wayward, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out another LP, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the group to focus on other projects.
Almond went on to have a successful solo career, featuring 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 enduring collaboration.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell came back together in 2001, producing the Top 40 album Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following another break, they reappeared in recent years, releasing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was intended to be a final performance at the O2 Arena on 30 September, 2018.
Yet, they stayed active, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.
Ball lately described the band's new album as a tribute to the New York club scene they frequented while recording their initial records.
He noted that his time in medical care had influenced the group's music.
"I had unusual memories when I was in and out of the hospital because I was on pain medication," he told a music magazine.
"The new songs are a digital reflection of the noises in my mind from those days.
"In parallel, it's about the times me and Marc had in the 80s."
The final mixes were finished only a short time before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for release in Spring 2026.
