April 6, 2025
Gang Of Four bassist Dave Allen has passed away
The punk world is morning one of its own today, following the sad news that Dave Allen, one of the founding members of Gang Of Four, has passed away at his home in Portland, Oregon.
According to the groups drummer, Hugo Burnham, Allen had been living with the early stage of onset dementia for the past few years. Allen is now the second original member of the group to pass away in the last few years. Allen was 69 years old.
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‘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,” Said Burnham. “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 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.”
Allen founded World Domination Recordings and participated in two bands who recorded for the label; The Elastic Purejoy, where he was the primary song writer and vocalist, and he played bass guitar in Low Pop Suicide.
Allen was born in Kendal on 23 December 1955. He joined Gang of Four shortly after their formation in 1976, following the departure of short-lived bassist Dave Wolfson. Their acclaimed debut album, Entertainment!, was released in 1979. Allen departed the band in 1981 and co-founded the band Shriekback.
Gang Of Four guitarist Andy Gill died of multiple organ failure and pneumonia in 2020; his widow Catherine Mayer believed he was an early victim of the Covid-19 pandemic after he had toured China in late 2019.
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The band continued to perform after Gill’s death, with a farewell tour scheduled for North America later this month. “We know that Dave would have wanted nothing more than to step onstage with us again in Portland on our farewell US tour,” Burnham said. “But it’s now a bridge too far.”
Gang Of Four are scheduled to play Montreal’s Beanfield Theatre on April 22nd, some tickets are still available.
