The talented musician, a key member of the innovative 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the duo achieved a worldwide hit with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in 1984, and their first record their initial full-length release is regarded as a seminal work of electronic music.
He later founded the innovative techno group The Grid, who achieved chart success with their 1994 single the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his rest at his residence in London on Wednesday 22 October, just weeks after playing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in Henley-on-Thames.
Recent Health Challenges
At that show, Ball appeared in a wheelchair, as he had for the previous couple of years, following a period of health issues.
"I ended up damage myself significantly," he stated in 2023. "I broke lower vertebrae in my back and fractured about multiple ribs and broke my arm."
After contracting a lung infection and developing sepsis, he was placed in an induced coma and stayed in hospital for seven months.
Nevertheless, he had been in "high spirits emotionally" during the warmer months, as he was developing a new album with Almond, called the upcoming Danceteria, which is set for publication in the coming year.
"He was focused and very pleased with the latest project that we literally finished only a short time ago," stated the singer in a tribute.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was all set to be such an positive time for him, and I find comfort from the fact that he heard the completed album and believed that it was a masterpiece."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond described his collaborator as "an exceptionally talented creative mastermind", stating: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our body of work.
"Thank you Dave for being an immense part of my life and for the songs you created with me. I wouldn't be where I am without you."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, also paid tribute, recalling Ball's "endless laughter" and "steadfast support".
"Being in a partnership with someone is different from being in a band, the bond is very tight," he continued.
"That was the case with us. We experienced so many remarkable, incredible, life-affirming experiences together. Many thanks, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a single-parent household in Chester in 1959, Ball was put up for adoption when he was a year and a half of age.
He grew up in Blackpool with his new family Donald and Brenda Ball, who altered his given name from Paul to his adopted name, alongside his younger sister his sister, who was also adopted.
He met Almond at an art college in the late 70s, where they were both studying art. Inspired by a mutual passion of Northern Soul, they established Soft Cell the very year, and quickly recorded an EP.
Creative Collaboration
The duo were an distinctive combination: Ball was the reserved technician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they achieved a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had developed a interest with electronic instruments after watching Kraftwerk perform on BBC science show Tomorrow's World, and began to marry dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second most popular song of 1981, shifting millions of copies globally. Alongside hits by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it contributed to paved the way for the electronic music style of the 80s.
The song was also featured on their first album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which spawned two additional high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the album up with the separate release, Torch, which peaked at number two in 1982.
Career Highlights
Success had its upsides. "I enjoyed being able to afford my initial property, having money and exploring, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball not long ago shared with a publication.
But it also presented challenges. "Sudden riches meant we could purchase newfound drugs to alleviate the boredom" of media interviews and television shows, Ball said.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a valid cause, because it applies for so many bands."
Amidst the party-filled existence, the pair were also growing distant, but they succeeded to produce a follow-up classic album - the unconventional, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released one more album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the band to focus on other projects.
Almond went on to have a prosperous individual path, including 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 enduring collaboration.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell came back together in the early 2000s, producing the charting record Cruelty Without Beauty.
After a further break, they reappeared in recent years, releasing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was supposed to be a farewell show at the large venue on 30 September, 2018.
However, they remained active, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.
Ball recently described the band's new album as a homage to the NYC nightlife they frequented while making their initial records.
He noted that his time in hospital had shaped the band's sound.
"I had strange recollections when I was in and out of hospital because I was on morphine," he explained to a music magazine.
"The new songs are a electronic representation of the sounds in my head from those days.
"Simultaneously, 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.
