The talented musician, a key member of the innovative 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Alongside vocalist Marc Almond, the team scored a worldwide hit with their version of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in 1984, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a seminal work of synth-pop.
He later founded the innovative techno group The Grid, who achieved chart success with their 1994 single Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully in his sleep at his home in London on Wednesday 22 October, just weeks after playing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in Henley-on-Thames.
Health Struggles
During that show, Ball appeared in a wheelchair, as he had for the last two years, after a spate of health issues.
"I managed to damage myself quite a bit," he stated in 2023. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my spine and fractured about five ribs and broke my wrist."
After catching a lung infection and suffering from blood poisoning, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and stayed in the hospital for seven months.
Nevertheless, he had been in "a great place mentally" during the summer, as he worked on a new album with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication next year.
"He was focused and very pleased with the latest project that we literally finished only a short time ago," stated the vocalist in a tribute.
"It's so sad as next year was all set to be such an positive year for him, and I take some solace from the fact that he heard the completed album and believed that it was a great piece of work."
Tributes
Almond described his bandmate as "an exceptionally talented musical genius", stating: "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 aspect of my existence and for the songs you created with me. I couldn't be where I am without you."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, also paid tribute, remembering Ball's "constant humor" and "steadfast support".
"Forming a duo with someone is distinct from being in a band, the bond is very tight," he continued.
"That was the case with us. We went through so many remarkable, incredible, memorable experiences as a team. Many thanks, Dave."
Early Life
Born into a single-parent household in Chester in the late 50s, Ball was put up for adoption when he was 18 months old.
He was raised in Blackpool with his new family his caregivers, who changed his given name from Paul to his adopted name, together with his younger sister his sister, who was also adopted.
He encountered Almond at an art college in the late 70s, 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 EP.
Creative Collaboration
The pair were an distinctive pairing: Ball was the reserved musician, hunched over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic showman, all glitter and eye-liner; but they achieved a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had developed a interest with synthesizers after viewing the band Kraftwerk perform on BBC science show a popular series, and started to marry moody electronic sounds to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second most popular single of the early 80s, shifting millions of units globally. Together with successful tracks by Gary Numan, Human League and Ultravox, it contributed to paved the way for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The song was also included on their full-length debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which spawned two additional top five singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the album up with the separate release, Torch, which peaked at the second position in the following year.
Career Highlights
Fame had its benefits. "I loved being able to afford my initial property, having financial security and travelling, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball recently told with a music magazine.
But it also caused problems. "Sudden riches allowed we could purchase substances to relieve the monotony" of media interviews and television shows, Ball said.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a good reason, because it applies for so many bands."
Amidst the party-filled existence, the duo were also drifting apart, but they succeeded to produce a second memorable record - the unconventional, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out another album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the group to concentrate on individual endeavors.
Almond proceeded to have a prosperous individual path, featuring the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who mixed acid house with ambient pop over a long-lasting partnership.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell came back together in 2001, producing the charting album Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following another hiatus, they returned in recent years, issuing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was supposed to be a farewell show at the O2 Arena on 30 September, 2018.
However, they remained together, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.
Ball lately characterized the duo's upcoming release as a tribute to the New York club scene they visited while recording their first two albums.
He added that his time in hospital had shaped the band's sound.
"I experienced strange recollections when I was in and out of hospital because I was on morphine," he told a music magazine.
"Our latest tracks are a electronic representation of the noises in my head from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences we got up to in the 80s."
The final mixes were completed only a short time before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for launch in Spring 2026.
