The talented musician, one half of the innovative 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Together with singer Marc Almond, the duo achieved a worldwide hit with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a seminal work of synth-pop.
He subsequently founded the pioneering techno group The Grid, who secured chart success with their 1994 single Swamp Thing.
Ball died peacefully in his rest at his residence in London on October 22, just weeks after playing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in the Thames-side town.
Health Struggles
At that performance, Ball performed in a wheelchair, as he had for the last two years, following a spate of ill-health.
"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 broke my arm."
Following contracting pneumonia and developing blood poisoning, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and remained in hospital for half a year.
Nevertheless, he had been in "high spirits emotionally" over the warmer months, as he was developing a new album with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is scheduled for release next year.
"He was focused and so happy with the new album that we actually finished only a few days ago," stated the singer in a heartfelt message.
"It's so sad as next year was all set to be such an uplifting time for him, and I take some solace from the fact that he listened to the completed album and believed that it was a masterpiece."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond referred to his bandmate as "a wonderfully brilliant musical genius", adding: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our legacy.
"Thank you Dave for being an immense aspect of my life and for the music you created with me. I wouldn't be where I am without you."
Richard Norris from The Grid, also paid tribute, recalling Ball's "constant humor" and "steadfast support".
"Forming a partnership with someone is distinct from being in a group, the bond is very tight," he continued.
"That's how it was with us. We went through so many remarkable, extraordinary, life-affirming moments together. Thank you, Dave."
Formative Years
Born into a single-parent household in Chester in 1959, Ball was given up for adoption when he was 18 months old.
He grew up in the seaside town with his new family his caregivers, who changed his given name from Paul to his adopted name, together with his sibling Susan, who was also adopted.
He encountered Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both learning fine arts. Fuelled by a mutual passion of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the very year, and quickly recorded an extended play.
Musical Partnership
The duo were an unusual pairing: Ball was the reserved musician, hunched over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic showman, all glitter and eye-liner; but they attained a rare musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with synthesizers after viewing Kraftwerk perform on a television science show a popular series, and started to combine dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second most popular song of the early 80s, shifting millions of copies globally. Together with hits by other artists, Human League and Ultravox, it contributed to paved the path 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 further high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the record up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at the second position in the following year.
Professional Journey
Fame had its upsides. "I enjoyed being able to afford my first home, having financial security and travelling, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball not long ago told with a music magazine.
But it also presented challenges. "Newfound wealth meant we could afford substances to alleviate the monotony" of press appearances and television shows, Ball explained.
"I know that's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a valid cause, because it applies for so many bands."
Amidst the hedonistic lifestyle, the duo were also growing distant, but they managed to produce a follow-up classic album - the wayward, 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 concentrate on other projects.
Almond proceeded to have a successful solo career, including 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 enduring collaboration.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell came back together in 2001, producing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.
After a further break, they returned in recent years, issuing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was supposed to be a final performance at the large venue on 30 September, that year.
Yet, they remained active, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.
Ball recently characterized the duo's upcoming release as a homage to the NYC nightlife they frequented while making their initial records.
He noted that his time in hospital had influenced the band's sound.
"I experienced strange recollections when I was in and out of the hospital because I was on morphine," he explained to a music magazine.
"The new songs are a electronic representation of the sounds in my mind from that time.
"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences me and Marc got up to in the 1980s."
The final mixes were finished only days before Ball died. It is scheduled for launch in the spring of 2026.
