Dave Allen obit

Former Gang Of Four Bassist Dave Allen Dead At 69

 

He was not on the list.

Dave Allen, the founding bassist of English post-punk greats Gang Of Four, died last Saturday at 69. His former bandmate Hugo Burnham confirmed the news in a post today on Gang Of Four’s Instagram account, noting that Allen had been living with early-onset dementia for the last several years of his life.

Gang Of Four formed in Leeds in 1976 with Allen alongside vocalist Jon King, guitarist Andy Gill, and drummer Burnham; their debut album Entertainment! was released in 1979. Entertainment! performed well both critically and commercially upon its release, helping to usher in the post-punk movement. Gang Of Four were quickly noted for their unique approach to the genre, their mix of funk, reggae, and dub underscoring lyrics that often referenced left-wing ideology. Entertainment! would go on to be considered one of the most important records in punk rock.

Shortly after Gang Of Four released their second LP Solid Gold in 1981, Allen departed the band to form Shriekback, a new wave-leaning project whose members included former XTC keyboardist Barry Andrews. Allen also played in groups including the Elastic Purejoy and Low Pop Suicide, but he also had a successful career in business. He founded the record label World Domination Recordings and served as the director of Consumer Digital Audio Services at Intel before working in artist relations at Apple Music.

Read Burnham’s full statement below.

It is with broken yet full hearts that we share the news that Dave Allen, our old music partner, friend, and brilliant musician, died on Saturday morning. He was at home with his family. Dave had endured the early-onset of mixed dementia for some years which has been a heartbreaking time for his wife Paddy, his children, and close friends. Our love and thoughts are with them. Jon and I [Hugo] went to see him and spent a lovely afternoon with him and the family. We talked and laughed for hours, sharing rich and vivid memories of good times together. Adventures, careers in music, raising families, our interwoven lives spanning half a century. We’ve been so very lucky to have had the Ace of Bass in our lives.

We know that Dave would have wanted nothing more than to step onstage with us again in Portland on our farewell US tour. But it’s now a bridge too far.

Goodbye, Old Friend.

He later founded World Domination Recordings and participated in two bands who recorded for the label. Allen was the vocalist and primary songwriter for The Elastic Purejoy, and played bass guitar in Low Pop Suicide which was fronted by Rick Boston. He appeared on several LPs and EPs with each of these bands, though his ambitious plan to release a work of 20 volumes produced only three releases, The Harvest and the Elastic Purejoy's The Clutter of Pop and Talk Radio. After leaving Shriekback in 1988, Allen founded King Swamp with other former bandmates.[3] According to Pitchfork.com, in 2006, Allen formed a "super-group" under the name Faux Hoax (supposedly pronounced 'Folks') with Danny Seim of Menomena, John Askew of Tracker, and Pioneers Press author Adam Gnade. A 7" single, "Your Friends Will Carry You Home," featuring Gnade on vocals, was released by Polyvinyl records in 2008.

Subsequently, he was director of Consumer Digital Audio Services at Intel in Portland, Oregon. He went on to be the president of the entertainment division of the Overland Agency, an advertising firm based in Portland. Later, he founded the digital strategy firm Fight, and ran the independent record label, Pampelmoose. In 2014, he joined Beats Music. After Apple Inc. acquired Beats, he stayed on with Apple Music.