David James Ball is an English

English people

The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...

 producer

Record producer

A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...

 and electronic

Electronic music

Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...

 musician

Musician

A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....

, who has played in bands

Musical ensemble

A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...

 such as Soft Cell

Soft Cell

Soft Cell are an English synthpop duo who came to prominence in the early 1980s. They consist of vocalist Marc Almond and instrumentalist David Ball. The duo is most widely known for their 1981 worldwide hit version of "Tainted Love" and platinum debut Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret...

 and The Grid

The Grid

The Grid are an English electronic dance group, consisting of Richard Norris and David Ball , with guest contributions from other musicians...

, and collaborated with other producers including Ingo Vauk and Chris Braide

Chris Braide

Christopher Braide is an English singer, songwriter, record producer published by Sony/ATV worldwide based in Los Angeles.Producer, Songwriter and Ivor Novello ASCAP and Billboard award winner Christopher Braide has achieved considerable success as a songwriter in the UK and the US. His songs have...

. He is usually referred to as Dave Ball on record sleeve

Record sleeve

A record sleeve is the outer covering of a vinyl recording. The sleeve is technically the paper covering that is closest in contact to the surface of the recording, as in "dust sleeve", "liner" and "album liner". The term has come to be synonymous with "record jacket" and "album jacket", which is...

s.

Biography

Ball was born in Blackpool and studied art at Leeds Polytechnic, where he met Marc Almond

Marc Almond

Marc Almond is an English singer-songwriter and musician, who originally found fame as half of the seminal synthpop/New Wave duo Soft Cell...

; they formed the synthpop duo Soft Cell in 1979, the band lasting until 1984. While with the group, he released a solo album, In Strict Tempo in 1983, which featured Gavin Friday

Gavin Friday

Gavin Friday is an Irish singer and songwriter, composer, actor and painter.-Career:Gavin was born in Dublin and grew up in Finglas, a neighbourhood located on Dublin's Northside...

, Genesis P-Orridge

Genesis P-Orridge

Genesis Breyer P-Orridge is an English singer-songwriter, musician, writer and artist. P-Orridge's early confrontational performance work in COUM Transmissions in the late 1960s and early 1970s along with the industrial band Throbbing Gristle, which dealt with subjects such as prostitution,...

, and Virginia Astley

Virginia Astley

Virginia Astley is an English singer-songwriter most active during the 1980s and 1990s. From the start of her songwriting career in 1980, Astley took her inspiration from many sources. Her classical training influenced her as did a desire to be experimental with her music...

. He later worked as a producer (working with The Virgin Prunes), remixer (working with The Pet Shop Boys and David Bowie

David Bowie

David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...

), and recorded for film soundtracks and formed another duo, The Grid

The Grid

The Grid are an English electronic dance group, consisting of Richard Norris and David Ball , with guest contributions from other musicians...

, with Richard Norris. He reunited with Almond in Soft Cell in 2001. 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

Martin Rushent

Martin Rushent was an English record producer, best known for his work with The Human League, The Stranglers and The Buzzcocks.- Early life :Rushent was born on 11 July 1948 in Enfield, Middlesex. His father was a car salesman...

. He lives in Kennington, south London.