Ball was born at Boundary Park General Hospital in Oldham, Lancashire, on 28 January 1944, to May (née Savage) and Bob Harper. He attended Crompton House C of E school, Shaw, Oldham, and briefly studied Shipping Management at Wigan Mining & Technical College before going to work in a factory as a welder, where he also met his future partner in comedy, Thomas Derbyshire (Tommy Cannon).
