The talented musician, a key member of the groundbreaking 1980s synth-pop duo Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Together with vocalist Marc Almond, the pair achieved a global success with their version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in 1984, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a classic of electronic music.
He subsequently founded the pioneering techno group The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully in his rest at his residence in London on October 22, only a short time after performing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in Henley-on-Thames.
Recent Health Challenges
At that performance, Ball appeared in a mobility chair, as he had for the last two years, following a spate of health issues.
"I ended up damage myself significantly," he stated in a recent interview. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my back and cracked about multiple ribs and fractured my wrist."
After contracting a lung infection and developing blood poisoning, he was placed in an induced coma and remained in hospital for half a year.
Nevertheless, he had been in "high spirits mentally" during the warmer months, as he was developing a fresh record with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is scheduled for release next year.
"He was concentrated and so happy with the new album that we actually completed only a short time ago," said the vocalist in a tribute.
"It's so sad as next year was completely planned to be such an positive time for him, and I take some solace from the knowledge that he heard the completed album and believed that it was a great piece of work."
Tributes
Almond referred to his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant musical genius", stating: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our legacy.
"Many thanks Dave for being an significant part of my existence and for the songs you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without you."
Richard Norris from The Grid, also paid tribute, recalling Ball's "constant humor" and "steadfast support".
"Being in a duo with someone is distinct from being in a group, the connection is very tight," he added.
"That was the case with us. We experienced so many extraordinary, extraordinary, life-affirming moments as a team. Thank you, Dave."
Formative Years
Brought into the world into a single-parent household in the city of Chester in 1959, Ball was given up for adoption when he was a year and a half of age.
He was raised in Blackpool with his new family his caregivers, who altered his given name from Paul to his adopted name, alongside his younger sister his sister, who was similarly welcomed.
He met Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both studying art. Fuelled by a mutual passion of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the very year, and promptly recorded an EP.
Creative Collaboration
The pair were an unusual pairing: Ball was the quiet technician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all glitter and makeup; but they attained a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with electronic instruments after watching Kraftwerk appear on BBC program Tomorrow's World, and started to marry dark electronica to the catchy tunes Almond was composing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second biggest-selling single of 1981, selling millions of copies globally. Alongside hits by Gary Numan, Human League and Ultravox, it contributed to cleared the way for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.
The song was also included on their first album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which produced two additional high-charting hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the album up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at the second position in 1982.
Career Highlights
Success had its benefits. "I enjoyed being able to afford my initial property, having financial security and travelling, which makes me sound like a Miss World," Ball not long ago told with a publication.
But it also presented problems. "Sudden riches meant we could purchase newfound drugs to alleviate the boredom" of press appearances and television shows, Ball said.
"I know that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a valid cause, because it works for so many musicians."
Amidst the party-filled existence, the pair were also growing distant, but they succeeded to create a follow-up memorable record - the wayward, edgy and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released another LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group to concentrate on other projects.
Almond went on 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 dance music 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 a further hiatus, they returned in 2018, releasing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was supposed to be a farewell show at the large venue on 30 September, that year.
However, they stayed together, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic restrictions.
Ball recently described the duo's upcoming release as a tribute to the NYC nightlife they frequented while making their initial records.
He noted that his time in medical care had influenced the band's sound.
"I experienced unusual memories when I was coming and going of the hospital because I was on morphine," he told a publication.
"The new songs are a digital reflection of the noises in my head from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences we got up to in the 1980s."
The final mixes were completed only days before Ball died. It is scheduled for launch in the spring of 2026.
