David Ball (musician)

For other musicians of that name, see David Ball.
Dave Ball
Born 3 May 1959 (1959-05-03) (age 52)
Instruments Keyboards, synthesiser
Years active 1978–present
Labels Some Bizzare,
Associated acts Soft Cell
The Grid, Nitewreckage

David James Ball (born 3 May 1959, Blackpool, Lancashire)[1] is an English producer and electronic musician, who has played in bands such as Soft Cell and The Grid, and collaborated with other producers including Ingo Vauk and Chris Braide. He is usually referred to as Dave Ball on record sleeves.

Biography

Ball was born in Blackpool and studied art at Leeds Polytechnic, where he met Marc Almond;[2] they formed the synthpop duo Soft Cell in 1979, the band lasting until 1984.[3] While with the group, he released a solo album, In Strict Tempo in 1983, which featured Gavin Friday, Genesis P-Orridge, and Virginia Astley.[3][4] He later worked as a producer (working with The Virgin Prunes),[4] remixer (working with The Pet Shop Boys and David Bowie),[5] and recorded for film soundtracks and formed another duo, The Grid, with Richard Norris.[3] He reunited with Almond in Soft Cell in 2001.[2][6] In 2010 he formed the band Nitewreckage with Celine Hispiche, Rick Mulhall and Terry Neale. Their debut album, Take Your Money And Run, was released on Alaska Sounds on 6 June 2011, with the single "Solarcoaster" preceding it. The album was co-produced and mixed by Martin Rushent. He lives in Kennington, south London.

Discography

References

  1. ^ Harrison, Nigel (1998), Songwriters: A Biographical Dictionary with Discographies, McFarland, p. 17, ISBN 0786405422 
  2. ^ a b Rimmer, Dave (2003) New Romantics: The Look, Omnibus Press, ISBN 978-0711993969, p. 110
  3. ^ a b c Ruhlmann, William "Dave Ball Biography", Allmusic, retrieved 2010-01-22
  4. ^ a b Neal, Charles (1987) Tape delay: confessions from the eighties underground, SAF, ISBN 978-0946719020
  5. ^ Hoffman, Wayne (2002) "After Nearly 20 years, Soft Cell Returns With a New Set on SpinArt", Billboard, 12 October 2002, p. 13
  6. ^ Flick, Larry (2002) "Almond's Joy", The Advocate, 29 October 2002, p. 64