The talented musician, a key member of the innovative 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Alongside singer Marc Almond, the duo achieved a global success with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in 1984, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a seminal work of synth-pop.
He subsequently formed the pioneering electronic act The Grid, who secured chart success with 1994's Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his rest at his home in London on October 22, just weeks after performing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in Henley-on-Thames.
Health Struggles
At that performance, Ball performed in a wheelchair, as he had for the last two years, after a spate of ill-health.
"I ended up damage myself significantly," he stated in a recent interview. "I broke lower vertebrae in my back and cracked about multiple ribs and fractured my arm."
Following contracting a lung infection and suffering from blood poisoning, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and remained in hospital for seven months.
Nevertheless, he had been in "high spirits emotionally" during the warmer months, as he worked on a new album with Almond, called Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication in the coming year.
"He was concentrated and very pleased with the latest project that we actually completed only a short time ago," said the singer in a heartfelt message.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was completely planned to be such an positive time for him, and I find comfort from the knowledge that he heard the completed album and believed that it was a masterpiece."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond referred to his collaborator as "an exceptionally talented musical genius", adding: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our legacy.
"Thank you Dave for being an significant part of my existence and for the music you created with me. I wouldn't be where I am without you."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, shared his condolences, recalling Ball's "endless laughter" and "steadfast support".
"Forming a duo with someone is distinct from being in a band, the bond is incredibly close," he continued.
"That's how it was with us. We experienced so many remarkable, incredible, memorable experiences together. Thank you, 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 a year and a half old.
He grew up in Blackpool with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his given name from his birth name to David, alongside his younger sister Susan, who was also adopted.
He encountered Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both learning art. Inspired by a mutual passion of Northern Soul, they established Soft Cell the very year, and promptly produced an extended play.
Musical Partnership
The pair were an unusual pairing: Ball was the reserved technician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all sparkle and makeup; but they achieved a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with synthesizers after viewing Kraftwerk appear on BBC science show Tomorrow's World, and started to combine dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.
Their signature song became the UK's second biggest-selling single of 1981, selling millions of copies globally. Alongside successful tracks by other artists, Human League and Ultravox, it contributed to cleared the way for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.
The song was also featured on their full-length debut, their initial LP, which spawned two additional top five hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the record up with the separate release, Torch, which peaked at the second position in 1982.
Career Highlights
Success had its upsides. "I enjoyed being able to purchase my initial property, having financial security and exploring, which makes me sound like a Miss World," Ball not long ago shared with a publication.
But it also caused challenges. "Sudden riches meant we could purchase newfound drugs to relieve the boredom" of media interviews and TV performances, Ball said.
"I know that's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a valid cause, because it applies for so many musicians."
Amidst the party-filled existence, the duo were also growing distant, but they managed to create a second classic album - the unconventional, edgy and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released one more album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band to concentrate on other projects.
Almond went on to have a prosperous solo career, featuring the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who combined dance music with melodic sounds over a long-lasting collaboration.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell came back together in the early 2000s, releasing the charting record Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following a further hiatus, they reappeared in recent years, releasing 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 September 30, that year.
However, they stayed together, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.
Ball lately characterized the duo's upcoming release as a homage to the New York club scene they frequented while recording their first two albums.
He noted that his period in hospital had influenced the group's music.
"I had unusual memories when I was coming and going of hospital because I was on morphine," he told a music magazine.
"Our latest tracks are a electronic representation of the noises in my mind from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences we got up to in the 1980s."
The final mixes were finished only a short time before Ball passed away. It is due for launch in the spring of 2026.
