The talented musician, a key member of the innovative 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Together with singer Marc Almond, the team scored a worldwide hit with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in 1984, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a seminal work of synth-pop.
He later formed the pioneering electronic act The Grid, who achieved popular acclaim with 1994's Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully in his rest at his residence in London on Wednesday 22 October, only a short time after performing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in Henley-on-Thames.
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 ill-health.
"I managed to damage myself significantly," he commented in 2023. "I broke spinal bones in my spine and fractured about multiple ribs and broke my arm."
Following 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.
Nevertheless, he had been in "a great place emotionally" over the summer, as he worked on a new album with Almond, titled the upcoming Danceteria, which is set for publication next year.
"He was concentrated and very pleased with the new album that we literally completed only a few days ago," said the vocalist in a tribute.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was completely planned to be such an uplifting time for him, and I find comfort from the knowledge that he heard the completed album and felt that it was a great piece of work."
Tributes
Almond described his collaborator as "an exceptionally talented musical genius", stating: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our body of work.
"Many thanks Dave for being an immense part of my life and for the music 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 "endless laughter" and "steadfast support".
"Being in a duo with someone is distinct from joining a band, the bond is very tight," he continued.
"That was the case with us. We experienced so many remarkable, incredible, life-affirming moments as a team. Thank you, Dave."
Formative Years
Born into a single-parent household in Chester in 1959, Ball was given up for adoption when he was 18 months of age.
He grew up in Blackpool with adoptive parents his caregivers, who altered his first name from Paul to his adopted name, alongside his sibling his sister, who was similarly welcomed.
He met Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in the late 70s, where they were both learning art. Fuelled by a mutual passion of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the same year, and promptly recorded an EP.
Creative Collaboration
The pair were an distinctive pairing: Ball was the reserved musician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a charismatic showman, all glitter and makeup; but they attained a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had developed a interest with electronic instruments after watching 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 21 million copies globally. Together with hits by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it helped paved the path for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The track was also included on their first album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which spawned two further high-charting hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the album up with the stand-alone single, Torch, which reached at number two in 1982.
Career Highlights
Fame had its upsides. "I loved being able to purchase my first home, having money and travelling, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball not long ago shared with a music magazine.
But it also caused problems. "Sudden riches allowed we could afford newfound drugs to relieve the boredom" of press appearances and TV performances, Ball said.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a valid cause, because it works for so many musicians."
During the hedonistic lifestyle, the pair were also drifting apart, but they succeeded to create a follow-up memorable record - the unconventional, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released one more LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band to concentrate on other projects.
Almond went on to have a prosperous individual path, including the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who mixed dance music with melodic sounds over a enduring partnership.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, releasing the Top 40 album Cruelty Without Beauty.
After another break, they reappeared in recent years, releasing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was supposed to be a farewell show at the O2 Arena on September 30, 2018.
However, they stayed together, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic restrictions.
Ball lately described the band's new album as a tribute to the New York club scene they visited while making their first two albums.
He noted that his time in hospital had influenced the group's music.
"I experienced strange recollections when I was in and out 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 head from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences we got up to in the 80s."
The last versions were finished only days before Ball passed away. It is due for release in Spring 2026.
