The talented musician, a key member of the innovative 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has died at the age of 66.
Together with singer Marc Almond, the pair achieved a worldwide hit with their cover of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record their initial full-length release is regarded as a classic of synth-pop.
He later founded the innovative electronic act The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with their 1994 single Swamp Thing.
Ball died calmly in his sleep at his residence in London on October 22, only a short time after playing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in Henley-on-Thames.
Health Struggles
At that performance, Ball appeared in a mobility chair, as he had for the previous couple of years, following a period of health issues.
"I managed to damage myself quite a bit," he commented in 2023. "I fractured spinal bones in my back and cracked about five ribs and fractured my wrist."
After catching pneumonia and developing blood poisoning, he was placed in an induced coma and remained in the hospital for half a year.
However, he had been in "a great place mentally" over the warmer months, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication next year.
"He was focused and very pleased with the new album that we actually completed only a few days ago," stated the vocalist in a heartfelt message.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was completely planned to be such an positive time for him, and I take some solace from the fact that he listened to the finished record and felt that it was a great piece of work."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond referred to his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant musical genius", adding: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our legacy.
"Many thanks Dave for being an significant 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, recalling Ball's "endless laughter" and "unwavering friendship".
"Forming a duo with someone is different from being in a band, the connection is incredibly close," he continued.
"That's how it was with us. We went through so many remarkable, extraordinary, memorable experiences together. Thank you, Dave."
Formative Years
Brought into the world into a one-parent family in Chester in 1959, Ball was given up for adoption when he was 18 months of age.
He was raised in Blackpool with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his first name from Paul to his adopted name, together with his sibling his sister, who was also adopted.
He met Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in the late 70s, where they were both learning fine arts. Inspired by a shared love of a music genre, they established Soft Cell the same year, and quickly produced an extended play.
Creative Collaboration
The duo were an unusual pairing: Ball was the reserved technician, hunched over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic showman, all glitter and eye-liner; but they attained a unique creative synergy.
Ball had developed a fascination with electronic instruments after watching the band Kraftwerk perform on a television science show Tomorrow's World, and started to combine dark electronica to the soaring melodies Almond was composing.
Their signature song became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling song of 1981, selling 21 million copies worldwide. Together with successful tracks by Gary Numan, contemporary bands and electronic acts, it contributed to cleared the path for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The song was also included on their first album, their initial LP, which produced two further high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the record up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at the second position in the following year.
Career Highlights
Success had its benefits. "I enjoyed being able to purchase my first home, having money and exploring, which makes me sound like a beauty queen," Ball recently shared with a publication.
But it also presented problems. "Newfound wealth meant we could purchase newfound drugs to relieve the boredom" of media interviews and TV performances, Ball explained.
"I realize that's a common saying, but it's a truism for a good reason, because it applies for so many bands."
During the hedonistic lifestyle, the pair were also drifting apart, but they managed to produce a follow-up memorable record - the wayward, tense and aptly-titled The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out one more LP, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the group to focus on other projects.
Almond proceeded to have a prosperous individual path, including the top 10 hit Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who mixed dance music with melodic sounds over a enduring collaboration.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, producing the Top 40 album Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following another hiatus, they reappeared in recent years, releasing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was supposed to be a farewell show at the O2 Arena on September 30, that year.
However, they remained active, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 restrictions.
Ball recently characterized the duo's new album as a tribute to the New York club scene they frequented while making their first two albums.
He added that his time in medical care had shaped 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.
"Our latest tracks are a digital reflection of the sounds in my mind from those days.
"In parallel, it's about the times we had in the 1980s."
The final mixes were completed only days before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for release in the spring of 2026.
