The talented musician, a key member of the pioneering 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Alongside vocalist Marc Almond, the team achieved a global success 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 calmly in his rest at his residence in London on Wednesday 22 October, just weeks after playing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in Henley-on-Thames.
Health Struggles
During that performance, Ball appeared in a wheelchair, as he had for the last two years, after a spate of health issues.
"I ended up injure myself significantly," he commented in a recent interview. "I broke spinal bones in my back and fractured about multiple ribs and fractured my arm."
Following contracting a lung infection and developing blood poisoning, he was placed in an induced coma and stayed in hospital for half a year.
However, he had been in "a great place emotionally" during the warmer months, as he was developing a new album with Almond, titled the upcoming Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication next year.
"He was concentrated and very pleased with the new album that we literally completed only a few days ago," stated the singer 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 knowledge that he listened to the completed album and believed that it was a masterpiece."
Tributes
Almond referred to his collaborator as "an exceptionally talented creative mastermind", adding: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our body of work.
"Many thanks Dave for being an immense part of my life and for the music you gave me. I couldn't be where I am without your influence."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, shared his condolences, remembering Ball's "endless laughter" and "unwavering friendship".
"Being in a duo with someone is distinct from being in a band, the connection is very tight," he continued.
"That was the case with us. We experienced so many remarkable, incredible, life-affirming experiences together. Many thanks, Dave."
Formative Years
Born into a one-parent family in Chester in the late 50s, Ball was given up for adoption when he was a year and a half old.
He grew up in Blackpool with adoptive parents his caregivers, who changed his given name from Paul to his adopted name, together with his sibling Susan, who was similarly welcomed.
He encountered Almond at an art college in the late 70s, where they were both learning art. Inspired by a mutual passion of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the very year, and promptly recorded an EP.
Creative Collaboration
The pair were an distinctive pairing: Ball was the quiet musician, hunched over his synthesizer, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all sparkle and makeup; but they attained a unique musical alchemy.
Ball had developed a fascination with synthesizers after viewing the band Kraftwerk perform on BBC science show Tomorrow's World, and began to combine dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.
Their signature song became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling song of 1981, selling 21 million copies worldwide. Together with hits by other artists, Human League and Ultravox, it contributed to cleared the path for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The track was also featured on their first album, their initial LP, which spawned two further top five singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the record up with the separate release, Torch, which peaked at the second position in 1982.
Career Highlights
Success had its benefits. "I enjoyed being able to afford my initial property, having financial security and exploring, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball recently shared with a music magazine.
But it also caused challenges. "Sudden riches meant we could afford newfound drugs to relieve the boredom" of press appearances and TV performances, Ball said.
"I know that's a common saying, but it's a truism for a good reason, because it works for so many musicians."
Amidst the hedonistic lifestyle, the duo were also drifting apart, but they managed to create a follow-up classic album - the unconventional, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They released one more LP, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the band to focus on other projects.
Almond went on to have a successful individual path, featuring the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who mixed acid house with melodic sounds over a enduring partnership.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell came back together in the early 2000s, releasing the charting album Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following a further break, they reappeared in 2018, issuing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was intended to be a farewell show at the large venue on 30 September, that year.
Yet, they stayed together, creating their latest project, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.
Ball recently described the band's new album as a homage to the NYC nightlife they frequented while recording their first two albums.
He added that his time in medical care had shaped the band's sound.
"I experienced unusual memories when I was coming and going of the hospital because I was on pain medication," he explained to a music magazine.
"The new songs are a digital reflection of the sounds in my mind from that time.
"In parallel, it's about the times me and Marc had in the 80s."
The final mixes were completed only days before Ball passed away. It is due for release in the spring of 2026.
