Dave Allen, who played bass guitar during influential British post-punk band Gang of Four’s early years — and who went on to found the group Shriekback — has died. He was 69.
Allen’s former Gang of Four bandmate Hugo Burnham shared the news of his passing on Sunday (April 6).
“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,” Burnham wrote on Gang of Four’s Instagram, where the band featured several photos in a tribute to Allen. “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,” he stated.
The note continued: “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.”
After joining Gang of Four with Burnham, Jon King and Andy Gill in Leeds in 1976, Allen made his mark as bassist on the band’s debut album, 1979’s Entertainment!, and their follow-up set, 1981’s Solid Gold. While neither were chart successes in the U.S., Gang of Four’s early work influenced the likes of Michael Stipe, Flea and Kurt Cobain, who included Entertainment! on his top 50 albums list (as published in the posthumous Journals).
In 1981, Allen formed Shriekback with Barry Andrews (XTC, The League of Gentlemen), and went on to record a number of albums with the group.
Allen rejoined Gang of…
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