Dave Allen — the British musician best known as the founding bassist for post-punk institution Gang of Four — has died. He was 69.
The news was shared by the band on social media yesterday (April 6), a statement confirming that Allen had died at home with his family on April 5 after coping with "early-onset mixed dementia for some years."
Drummer Hugo Burnham reflected on a recent visit he and frontman Jon King had made to their former bandmate. "We talked and laughed for hours, sharing rich and vivid memories of good times together," he wrote. "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."
He added, "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," referring to the stint on the road celebrating the 45th anniversary of Entertainment! that the current Gang of Four lineup will kick off later this month.
Born in Kendal, Westmorland, Allen formed the band alongside Burnham, King and guitarist Andy Gill in 1976 in Leeds. The bassist played on the immensely influential 1979 debut Entertainment!, which was instrumental in inciting the post-punk movement, as well as 1981 sophomore LP, Solid Gold, before leaving the group to form new wave project Shriekback with former XTC member Barry Andrews.
Allen went on to found the World Domination Recordings, playing in two bands that recorded for the label: the Elastic Purejoy and Low Pop Suicide. After leaving Shriekback in 1988, he and other former bandmates founded King Swamp. Allen's roster of projects also included a supergroup called Faux Hoax with Danny Seim (Menomena), John Askew (Tracker) and Adam Gnade, which released a 7-inch single through Polyvinyl in 2008.
Elsewhere in his life, the bassist served as director of Consumer Audio Services at Intel in Portland, OR, and became president of advertising firm Overland Agency's entertainment division, before founding his own digital strategy firm, Fight, and running the indie label Pampelmoose.
See Gang of Four's full statement on Allen's death below.