The talented musician, a key member of the groundbreaking 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Together with singer Marc Almond, the team scored a worldwide hit with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record their initial full-length release is regarded as a classic of synth-pop.
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 residence in London on Wednesday 22 October, just weeks after playing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in the Thames-side town.
Health Struggles
During that show, Ball performed in a mobility chair, as he had for the last two years, following a period of health issues.
"I ended up damage myself quite a bit," he stated in 2023. "I broke spinal bones in my spine and fractured about multiple ribs and broke my wrist."
Following contracting a lung infection and suffering from blood poisoning, he was put in an induced coma and remained in hospital for half a year.
Nevertheless, he had been in "a great place emotionally" over the summer, as he worked on a new album with Almond, called the upcoming Danceteria, which is scheduled for release next year.
"He was concentrated and so happy with the latest project that we literally completed only a few days ago," said the vocalist in a heartfelt message.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was completely planned to be such an positive time for him, and I find comfort from the fact that he listened to the finished record and felt that it was a masterpiece."
Tributes
Almond described his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant creative mastermind", adding: "He was the core essence 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 music you gave me. I wouldn't be where I am without you."
Richard Norris from The Grid, shared his condolences, recalling Ball's "constant humor" and "unwavering friendship".
"Being in a duo with someone is different from joining a band, the connection is very tight," he continued.
"That was the case with us. We went through so many extraordinary, incredible, memorable experiences together. Thank you, Dave."
Early Life
Born into a one-parent family in the city of Chester in 1959, Ball was put up for adoption when he was a year and a half of age.
He was raised in Blackpool with adoptive parents his caregivers, who changed his first name from Paul to his adopted name, alongside his younger sister Susan, who was also adopted.
He met Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in the late 70s, where they were both studying fine arts. Fuelled by a mutual passion of Northern Soul, they established Soft Cell the very year, and quickly produced an EP.
Creative Collaboration
The pair were an unusual combination: Ball was the reserved technician, hunched over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all glitter and makeup; but they achieved a unique creative synergy.
Ball had developed a fascination with synthesizers after viewing Kraftwerk perform on BBC program a popular series, and started to combine dark electronica to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.
Their signature song became the United Kingdom's second most popular song of the early 80s, shifting 21 million copies worldwide. 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 track was also featured on their full-length debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which produced two additional top five singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the album up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which reached at the second position in the following year.
Professional Journey
Fame had its upsides. "I loved being able to purchase my first home, having money and travelling, which might seem like a beauty queen," Ball not long ago told with a publication.
But it also presented problems. "Sudden riches allowed we could afford newfound drugs to alleviate the monotony" of media interviews and television shows, Ball explained.
"I realize that's a common saying, but it's a truism for a good reason, because it applies for so many musicians."
Amidst the party-filled existence, the duo were also growing distant, but they managed to create a second classic album - the unconventional, edgy and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released one more LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group to focus on other projects.
Almond went on to have a successful individual path, featuring the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who combined acid house with melodic sounds over a long-lasting partnership.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, producing the charting record Cruelty Without Beauty.
After another break, they returned in 2018, issuing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was supposed to be a farewell show at the O2 Arena on September 30, that year.
Yet, they stayed together, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.
Ball recently described the band's new album as a homage to the New York club scene they visited while recording their initial records.
He added that his period in medical care had shaped the band's sound.
"I experienced unusual memories when I was coming and going of the hospital because I was on morphine," he explained to a publication.
"The new songs are a electronic representation of the sounds in my mind from those days.
"In parallel, it's about the times we got up to in the 1980s."
The final mixes were finished only days before Ball died. It is due for launch in Spring 2026.
