The talented musician, a key member of the pioneering 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Together with singer Marc Almond, the team scored a global success with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in 1984, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a seminal work of electronic music.
He later founded the innovative electronic act The Grid, who achieved popular acclaim with their 1994 single the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball died peacefully in his rest at his residence in London on Wednesday 22 October, just weeks after performing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in the Thames-side town.
Health Struggles
During that show, Ball performed in a wheelchair, as he had for the last two years, following a spate of health issues.
"I managed to damage myself quite a bit," he stated in 2023. "I broke spinal bones in my spine and cracked about five ribs and broke my arm."
Following contracting pneumonia and suffering from blood poisoning, he was placed in an induced coma and remained in the hospital for half a year.
Nevertheless, he had been in "a great place mentally" during the summer, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication in the coming year.
"He was focused and so happy with the new album that we actually finished only a few days ago," said the singer in a tribute.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was all set to be such an uplifting year 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."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond referred to his collaborator as "an exceptionally talented creative mastermind", stating: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our body of work.
"Thank you Dave for being an significant aspect of my existence and for the songs you gave me. I couldn't be where I am without you."
Richard Norris from The Grid, also paid tribute, remembering Ball's "endless laughter" and "unwavering friendship".
"Forming a duo with someone is different from being in a group, the connection is very tight," he added.
"That's how it was with us. We went through so many remarkable, incredible, life-affirming moments as a team. Thank you, Dave."
Formative Years
Brought into the world into a one-parent family in the city of Chester in 1959, Ball was put up for adoption when he was a year and a half of age.
He was raised in the seaside town with his new family his caregivers, who altered his first name from Paul to his adopted name, alongside his younger sister his sister, who was similarly welcomed.
He encountered Almond at an art college in the late 70s, where they were both studying fine arts. Fuelled by a shared love of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and promptly recorded an extended play.
Creative Collaboration
The pair were an unusual combination: Ball was the reserved musician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all glitter and makeup; but they achieved a unique creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with synthesizers after viewing Kraftwerk appear on BBC science show Tomorrow's World, and began to combine dark electronica to the catchy tunes Almond was writing.
Their signature song became the UK's second biggest-selling single of 1981, selling millions of copies worldwide. Together with successful tracks by other artists, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it contributed to paved the path for the synth-pop sound of the 1980s.
The track was also featured on their first album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which produced two additional 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 1982.
Professional Journey
Fame had its upsides. "I loved being able to afford my initial property, having financial security and exploring, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball recently told with a music magazine.
But it also caused 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 bands."
Amidst the hedonistic lifestyle, the pair were also drifting apart, but they succeeded to create a follow-up classic album - the wayward, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out one more LP, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band to focus on other projects.
Almond proceeded to have a successful individual path, 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 long-lasting collaboration.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell came back together in the early 2000s, releasing the Top 40 album Cruelty Without Beauty.
After a further break, they returned in 2018, issuing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was supposed to be a farewell show at the large venue on September 30, that year.
However, they remained together, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.
Ball lately described the duo's upcoming release as a tribute to the NYC nightlife they visited while making their first two albums.
He noted that his period in medical care had influenced the group's music.
"I had strange recollections when I was in and out of the hospital because I was on morphine," he told a publication.
"The new songs are a electronic representation of the sounds in my head from that time.
"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences me and Marc got up to in the 1980s."
The final mixes were completed only a short time before Ball died. It is due for launch in Spring 2026.
