The talented musician, a key member of the groundbreaking 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 their initial full-length release is considered a seminal work of electronic music.
He later founded the pioneering electronic act The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with their 1994 single Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his rest at his residence in London on Wednesday 22 October, only a short time after performing 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 previous couple of years, after a spate of health issues.
"I managed to injure myself significantly," he stated in a recent interview. "I broke spinal bones in my spine and cracked about five ribs and fractured my wrist."
Following contracting a lung infection and developing sepsis, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and stayed in the hospital for seven months.
Nevertheless, he had been in "high spirits emotionally" during the summer, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is scheduled for release next year.
"He was concentrated and so happy with the latest project that we actually finished only a few days ago," stated the vocalist in a tribute.
"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 fact that he heard the completed album and believed that it was a masterpiece."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond referred to his bandmate as "an exceptionally talented creative mastermind", 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 created with me. I couldn't be where I am without your influence."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, also paid tribute, recalling Ball's "constant humor" and "steadfast support".
"Forming a duo with someone is distinct from joining a group, the connection is very tight," he added.
"That's how it was with us. We went through so many extraordinary, extraordinary, memorable experiences as a team. Many thanks, 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 of age.
He was raised in the seaside town with adoptive parents his caregivers, who changed his first name from his birth name to David, alongside his sibling Susan, who was also adopted.
He met Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both studying art. Inspired by a shared love of Northern Soul, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and promptly recorded an extended play.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an unusual combination: Ball was the reserved musician, hunched over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all glitter and makeup; but they achieved a rare creative synergy.
Ball had developed a interest with synthesizers after watching the band Kraftwerk perform on BBC program a popular series, and began to marry moody electronic sounds to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second biggest-selling single of the early 80s, selling millions of copies worldwide. Together with hits by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it helped cleared the path for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.
The song was also featured on their full-length debut, 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 the following year.
Career Highlights
Fame had its benefits. "I loved being able to afford my first home, having financial security and exploring, which might seem like a beauty queen," Ball recently told with a music magazine.
But it also presented challenges. "Newfound wealth allowed we could purchase newfound drugs to alleviate the boredom" of media interviews and TV performances, 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 drifting apart, but they succeeded to produce a second classic album - the unconventional, edgy and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released one more LP, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group to focus on other projects.
Almond went on to have a prosperous individual path, featuring the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who combined dance music with ambient pop over a enduring partnership.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell came back together in the early 2000s, releasing the charting record Cruelty Without Beauty.
After a further hiatus, they returned in 2018, issuing 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.
However, they stayed active, recording their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.
Ball lately characterized the band's new album as a homage to the New York club scene they frequented while making their first two albums.
He added that his time in hospital 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 publication.
"Our latest tracks are a digital reflection of the sounds in my mind from that time.
"In parallel, it's about the experiences we had in the 80s."
The final mixes were completed only days before Ball died. It is due for launch in the spring of 2026.
