David Allen, Gang Of Four and Shriekback Bassist, Dead At 69

Founding bassist of the English post-punk bands Gang Of Four and Shriekback David Allen passed away on Saturday April 5 at the age of 69 after a short battle with early-onset dementia.

The news was shared on the Gang Of Four's official Instagram account, in a post from drummer Hugo Burnham:

"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."

Allen recorded on the Gang Of Four's first 2 albums before leaving to form Shriekback alongside Barry Andrews, formerly of XTC and the League of Gentlemen, and Carl Marsh, formerly of Out on Blue Six.

In 1986 Allen left Shriekback to rejoin Gang of Four, and Shriekback remained a collaborative centred on Andrews.

In 1988, Allen founded King Swamp with other former bandmates.

He later founded World Domination Recordings and participated in two bands who recorded for the label.

Subsequently, he was the director of Consumer Digital Audio Services at Intel in Portland, Oregon. Then he went on to be the president of the entertainment division of the Overland Agency, an advertising firm based in Portland. He then co-founded the digital strategy firm Fight, and ran the independent record label, Pampelmoose.

In 2014, he joined Beats Music. After Apple Inc. acquired Beats, he stayed on with Apple Music.