The talented musician, a key member of the innovative 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Alongside vocalist Marc Almond, the team scored a worldwide hit with their version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their debut album their initial full-length release is regarded as a classic of synth-pop.
He subsequently founded the innovative electronic act The Grid, who achieved popular acclaim with 1994's Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully in his sleep at his residence in London on October 22, only a short time after playing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in the Thames-side town.
Recent Health Challenges
During that show, Ball performed in a mobility chair, as he had for the previous couple of years, after a period of health issues.
"I ended up injure myself quite a bit," he commented in a recent interview. "I fractured spinal bones in my back and cracked about five ribs and fractured my arm."
After contracting pneumonia and developing sepsis, he was put in an induced coma and stayed in hospital for seven months.
Nevertheless, he had been in "high spirits emotionally" over the warmer months, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, called Danceteria, which is set for release next year.
"He was focused and very pleased with the new album that we actually finished only a few days ago," said the vocalist in a tribute.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was all set to be such an uplifting time for him, and I take some solace from the knowledge that he listened to the finished record and felt that it was a great piece of work."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond referred to his bandmate 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 significant part of my existence and for the songs you gave me. I couldn't be where I am without your influence."
Richard Norris from The Grid, shared his condolences, remembering Ball's "endless laughter" and "steadfast support".
"Being in a duo with someone is different from joining a group, the connection is very tight," he continued.
"That's how it was 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 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 altered his given name from his birth name to David, alongside his younger sister his sister, who was also adopted.
He encountered Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both studying fine arts. Inspired by a mutual passion of Northern Soul, they established Soft Cell the same year, and promptly recorded an EP.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an unusual combination: Ball was the reserved musician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they attained a rare musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with synthesizers after viewing Kraftwerk appear on a television science show Tomorrow's World, and began to marry moody electronic sounds to the catchy tunes Almond was composing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling single of the early 80s, shifting millions of copies globally. Together with hits by other artists, Human League and Ultravox, it helped cleared the path for the electronic music style of the 80s.
The song was also featured on their first album, their initial LP, which produced two additional top five singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the record up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which reached at number two in the following year.
Career Highlights
Fame had its benefits. "I loved being able to purchase my initial property, having financial security and exploring, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball not long ago shared with a publication.
But it also caused challenges. "Sudden riches allowed we could purchase newfound drugs to alleviate the monotony" of media interviews and television shows, Ball explained.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a valid cause, because it works for so many musicians."
During the party-filled existence, the pair were also growing distant, but they succeeded to produce a second classic album - the unconventional, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out another LP, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band to focus on other projects.
Almond proceeded to have a successful solo career, featuring the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who mixed acid house with melodic sounds over a enduring collaboration.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell came back together in the early 2000s, producing the Top 40 album Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following a further break, they reappeared in recent years, issuing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was supposed to be a final performance at the large venue on 30 September, 2018.
Yet, they stayed together, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.
Ball lately described the band's new album as a tribute to the NYC nightlife they frequented while recording their first two albums.
He added that his period in medical care had influenced the group's music.
"I experienced unusual memories when I was coming and going of hospital because I was on pain medication," he explained to a music magazine.
"The new songs are a digital reflection of the sounds in my head from that time.
"In parallel, it's about the experiences me and Marc got up to in the 1980s."
The final mixes were finished only days before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for launch in Spring 2026.