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 Four for a reunion with the core lineup in the mid-’00s. He also performed with bands including The Elastic Purejoy and Low Pop Suicide.
Gang of Four bandmate Gill, the group’s founding guitarist, died in 2020.
Allen’s experience in the music industry went beyond the recording studio and stage. Most recently he co-founded and served as director of music relations at DinWorkshop, a consultancy, design studio and lab built to create alongside musicians.
Previously he held positions in artist relations and artist advocacy at Apple Music and Beats Music, was business development director in consumer digital audio services at Intel, and in the late ’90s was general manager at eMusic. Allen was a speaker and panelist on digital strategy, music and technology at SXSW, CMJ, SF Music Tech and more throughout his career.
