The talented musician, one half of the innovative 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Together with singer Marc Almond, the pair scored a global success with their version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a classic of electronic music.
He subsequently founded the pioneering electronic act The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with 1994's Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully in his rest at his home in London on Wednesday 22 October, only a short time after playing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in Henley-on-Thames.
Health Struggles
During that show, Ball performed in a mobility chair, as he had for the previous couple of years, following a spate of health issues.
"I ended up injure myself significantly," he stated in a recent interview. "I broke lower vertebrae in my back and cracked about five ribs and fractured my arm."
After contracting pneumonia and suffering from sepsis, 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 summer, as he was developing a new album with Almond, called Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication next year.
"He was focused and very pleased with the new album that we literally completed only a few days ago," stated the singer in a heartfelt message.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was all set to be such an uplifting year for him, and I take some solace from the fact that he heard the completed album 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 body of work.
"Many thanks Dave for being an significant part of my existence and for the music you gave me. I wouldn't be where I am without you."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, also paid tribute, remembering Ball's "constant humor" and "unwavering friendship".
"Forming a partnership with someone is different from being in a group, the bond is incredibly close," he added.
"That's how it was with us. We went through so many extraordinary, incredible, life-affirming moments together. Many thanks, Dave."
Early Life
Born into a one-parent family 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 the seaside town with his new family his caregivers, who changed his given name from his birth name to David, together with his sibling Susan, who was also adopted.
He met Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both learning art. Inspired by a mutual passion of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the very year, and promptly recorded an extended play.
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 rare musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with synthesizers after viewing the band Kraftwerk appear on a television program a popular series, and began to marry dark electronica to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.
Their signature song became the UK's second biggest-selling single of the early 80s, shifting millions of copies worldwide. Together with successful tracks by other artists, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it helped paved the way for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The song was also included on their full-length debut, their initial LP, which produced two further high-charting hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the record up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which peaked at the second position in the following year.
Career Highlights
Success had its benefits. "I loved being able to purchase my initial property, having money and travelling, which makes me sound like a Miss World," Ball recently told with a publication.
But it also presented challenges. "Newfound wealth meant we could purchase newfound drugs to alleviate the monotony" of media interviews and television shows, Ball said.
"I realize that's a common saying, but it's a cliché for a good reason, because it applies for so many musicians."
Amidst the party-filled existence, the pair were also growing distant, but they succeeded to produce a follow-up memorable record - the unconventional, edgy and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out one more album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the group to focus on other projects.
Almond proceeded to have a prosperous solo career, including the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who combined dance music with melodic sounds over a enduring partnership.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell came back together in 2001, producing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following another hiatus, they returned in recent years, releasing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was intended to be a farewell show at the large venue on September 30, that year.
Yet, they remained together, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.
Ball lately described the duo's upcoming release as a tribute to the NYC nightlife they frequented while recording their first two albums.
He added that his period in hospital had shaped the band's sound.
"I had unusual memories when I was coming and going of the hospital because I was on pain medication," he explained to a publication.
"Our latest tracks are a electronic representation of the noises in my mind from those days.
"In parallel, it's about the times me and Marc had in the 1980s."
The last versions were completed only a short time before Ball died. It is scheduled for launch in Spring 2026.