The talented musician, one half of the groundbreaking 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Together with vocalist Marc Almond, the team achieved a worldwide hit with their version of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a seminal work of synth-pop.
He later formed the pioneering electronic act The Grid, who achieved popular acclaim with 1994's Swamp Thing.
Ball died peacefully in his rest at his home in London on Wednesday 22 October, only a short time after performing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in the Thames-side town.
Recent Health Challenges
At that performance, Ball performed in a mobility chair, as he had for the previous couple of years, following a period of health issues.
"I ended up injure myself quite a bit," he stated in a recent interview. "I broke lower vertebrae in my spine and fractured about multiple ribs and fractured my arm."
Following catching pneumonia and developing sepsis, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and remained in the hospital for half a year.
However, he had been in "a great place mentally" during the summer, as he worked on a new album with Almond, called the upcoming Danceteria, which is scheduled for release in the coming year.
"He was concentrated and so happy with the new album that we actually completed only a few days ago," stated the singer in a tribute.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was completely planned to be such an uplifting time for him, and I find comfort from the knowledge that he heard the completed album and felt that it was a masterpiece."
Tributes
Almond described 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.
"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."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, shared his condolences, remembering Ball's "constant humor" and "steadfast support".
"Being in a duo with someone is distinct from being in a band, the bond is very tight," he added.
"That was the case with us. We experienced so many extraordinary, incredible, memorable experiences as a team. Many thanks, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a single-parent household in the city of Chester in the late 50s, Ball was given up for adoption when he was 18 months of age.
He was raised in Blackpool with adoptive parents his caregivers, who changed his first name from Paul to his adopted name, together with his younger sister Susan, who was also adopted.
He met Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both learning fine arts. Inspired by a mutual passion of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and quickly produced an EP.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an unusual combination: Ball was the reserved technician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all glitter and eye-liner; but they achieved a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with electronic instruments after viewing Kraftwerk appear on BBC program Tomorrow's World, and began to combine dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.
Their signature song became the UK's second most popular single of the early 80s, shifting millions of units worldwide. Together with successful tracks by other artists, Human League and electronic acts, it helped paved the way for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The track was also featured on their first album, their initial LP, 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 peaked at number two in the following year.
Professional Journey
Fame had its benefits. "I enjoyed being able to purchase my first home, having financial security and travelling, which might seem like a beauty queen," Ball not long ago told with a music magazine.
But it also presented challenges. "Sudden riches meant we could purchase substances to alleviate the monotony" of press appearances and television shows, Ball said.
"I know that's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a good reason, because it works for so many bands."
Amidst the party-filled existence, the pair were also growing distant, but they succeeded to create a second memorable record - the unconventional, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released another album, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band 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 created The Grid, who mixed acid house with ambient pop over a enduring partnership.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell came back together in 2001, producing the Top 40 album Cruelty Without Beauty.
After a further hiatus, they reappeared in recent years, releasing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was supposed to be a final performance at the O2 Arena on 30 September, 2018.
Yet, they stayed active, recording their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.
Ball lately characterized the band's new album as a homage to the New York club scene they frequented while making their initial records.
He noted that his period in hospital had influenced the band's sound.
"I had unusual memories when I was coming and going of hospital because I was on pain medication," he told a music magazine.
"The new songs are a electronic representation of the sounds in my head from those days.
"In parallel, it's about the experiences me and Marc got up to in the 1980s."
The final mixes were finished only a short time before Ball died. It is scheduled for launch in the spring of 2026.
