Legendary post-punk bassist Dave Allen dies aged 69

News broke today, from former Gang Of Four bandmate Hugo Burnham, that Dave Allen passed away yesterday (Saturday 5 April) aged 69, having suffered with early onset dementia in recent years.

"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." (Gang Of Four statement, written by Hugo Burnham)

Dave Allen (right) onstage with Andy Gill and Jon King

Dave Allen was born in Kendal in December 1955, he joined the fledgling Gang Of Four in 1976, formed as part of the Leeds art scene, with Jon King (vocals), Andy Gill (guitar) and Hugo Burnham (drums). With their blistering mix of punk, funk, reggae, dub and socialist commentary, they became an essential band on the post-punk scene, especially with critically acclaimed 1979 debut album Entertainment!

The early songs would influence more than one future generation of musician. R.E.M.'s Michael Stipe acknowledged their influence, Flea said the Red Hot Chili Peppers early sound was heavily indebted to them, and many from the grunge and sludge scenes, like Kurt Cobain and Buzz Osborne recognised their impact. Later waves of indie bands namechecked them, like Franz Ferdinand and Bloc Party, ensuring that their legacy continued into the 2000's.

Allen left the band in 1981, after second album Solid Gold came out, forming new wave band Shriekback. He would also later appear in bands like The Elastic Purejoy and Low Pop Suicide, both of whom were signed to the record label, World Domination Recordings, that he founded. He would later move to Portland, Oregon, working as a director with Intel, then the President of the entertainment division of the Overland Agency. He was working for Beats Music when they were taken over by Apple Music, and stayed working for them.

King, Allen, Gill, Burnham

There was a brief return to his post-punk roots, when the four original Gang Of Four members reunited in 2004, touring through 2005, before splitting again the following year.

With it being just over five years now since Andy Gill sadly passed, Gang Of Four is down to two - and this news comes just as Jon King and Hugo Burnham are embarking on what is being marked as the bands final ever tour.

As Stereo Embers magazine noted about Entertainment!, "Allen’s funky and buoyant playing drew listeners into each and every song on the record", and that his playing style, "stuck out for its utter originality and rhythmic complexity".