The talented musician, one half of the pioneering 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Alongside vocalist Marc Almond, the pair achieved 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 seminal work of electronic music.
He subsequently founded the innovative electronic act The Grid, who achieved popular acclaim with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly 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 the Thames-side town.
Recent Health Challenges
During that performance, 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 2023. "I broke spinal bones in my spine and cracked about multiple ribs and broke my wrist."
After contracting a lung infection and suffering from blood poisoning, he was placed in an medically-induced sleep and stayed in the hospital for half a year.
However, he had been in "a great place mentally" over the summer, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, called Danceteria, which is set for release in the coming year.
"He was concentrated and very pleased with the new album that we literally finished only a short time ago," stated the vocalist in a tribute.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was all set to be such an uplifting time for him, and I find comfort from the knowledge that he heard the finished record and felt that it was a great piece of work."
Tributes
Almond referred to his bandmate as "an exceptionally talented musical genius", adding: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our legacy.
"Thank you Dave for being an immense aspect of my life and for the songs you created with me. I wouldn't be where I am without you."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, also paid tribute, recalling Ball's "endless laughter" and "steadfast support".
"Being in a partnership with someone is distinct from being in a group, the bond is very tight," he continued.
"That was the case with us. We went through so many extraordinary, extraordinary, memorable moments as a team. Thank you, Dave."
Early Life
Born into a single-parent household in the city of Chester in 1959, Ball was put up for adoption when he was 18 months of age.
He grew up in Blackpool with his new family Donald and Brenda Ball, who altered his first name from Paul to his adopted name, alongside his younger sister his sister, who was also adopted.
He met Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both studying fine arts. Fuelled by a shared love of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the very year, and promptly recorded an extended play.
Creative Collaboration
The duo were an unusual combination: Ball was the reserved technician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they achieved a rare creative synergy.
Ball had developed a fascination with electronic instruments after viewing Kraftwerk perform on a television science show Tomorrow's World, and started to marry moody electronic sounds to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the UK's second most popular song of the early 80s, selling 21 million copies worldwide. Alongside successful tracks by other artists, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it contributed to paved the way for the electronic music style of the 80s.
The track was also featured on their first album, their initial LP, which spawned two further top five hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the record up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which peaked at number two in 1982.
Career Highlights
Success had its benefits. "I loved being able to afford my initial property, having money and exploring, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball not long ago told with a publication.
But it also presented challenges. "Newfound wealth allowed we could afford newfound drugs to relieve the monotony" of media interviews and television shows, Ball said.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a valid cause, because it works for so many musicians."
Amidst the party-filled existence, the duo were also growing distant, but they succeeded to produce a follow-up memorable record - the unconventional, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out another album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the group to focus on other projects.
Almond went on to have a prosperous solo career, including the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who mixed acid house with ambient pop over a long-lasting collaboration.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, releasing the charting record Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following a further break, they returned in recent years, issuing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was intended to be a final performance at the O2 Arena on September 30, that year.
However, they remained active, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.
Ball lately described the band's upcoming release as a tribute to the New York club scene they visited while making their initial records.
He added that his time in medical care had influenced the group's music.
"I experienced strange recollections when I was coming and going of the hospital because I was on pain medication," he told a publication.
"Our latest tracks are a digital reflection of the sounds in my mind from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the times we had in the 1980s."
The final mixes were completed only a short time before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for launch in the spring of 2026.
