Dave Allen, the bassist who performed with Gang of 4 of their heyday, died at residence along with his household on Saturday, April 5, the band introduced on social media. Whereas no reason for dying was given, the band stated Allen had been dwelling with early-onset dementia for a number of years. He was 69 years previous.
David Geoffrey Allen grew up in a working-class household within the North English city of Kendal, later shifting to Leeds and enjoying within the native music scene. He joined Jon King, Andy Gill, and Hugo Burnham within the early days of Gang of 4, changing unique bassist Dave Wolfson in time to work on the band’s 1979 debut, Leisure! The album’s spartan association of post-punk and funk components, paired with a lyric sheet filled with witty barbs that critiqued and demystified shopper capitalism, made the band a cult sensation, beloved by critics, artwork punks, and indie-rockers for many years to come back. Allen remained with the band for second album Stable Gold, a report that made waves in the US and secured their enduring legacy as a serious affect on the likes of R.E.M., Nirvana, and Purple Sizzling Chili Peppers.
After Stable Gold’s launch, in 1981, tensions throughout the group—in addition to points with exhaustion and drug use—prompted Allen to half methods along with his bandmates throughout a tour. The identical yr, he shaped Shriekback with XTC’s Barry Andrews. It was the primary in a collection of Allen aspect initiatives (later together with the Elastic Purejoy, Low Pop Suicide, King Swamp, and Fake Hoax) that preceded his eventual return to Gang of 4 for a 2004 reunion tour. He left once more quickly after—there was no love misplaced between Allen and the late Andy Gill, who lengthy butted heads about points stemming from the band’s early days—and entered a profession within the music know-how sector that landed him positions at Beats Music and Apple Music.
Of their assertion remembering Allen, surviving Gang of 4 members Hugo Burnham and Jon King recalled a latest afternoon with Allen and his household. “We talked and laughed for hours, sharing wealthy and vivid recollections of fine instances collectively,” they wrote. “Adventures, careers in music, elevating households, our interwoven lives spanning half a century. We’ve been so very fortunate to have had the Ace of Bass in our lives.”
Burnham and King continued, “We all know that Dave would have wished nothing greater than to step onstage with us once more in Portland on our farewell US tour. But it surely’s now a bridge too far. Goodbye, Previous Good friend.”
