Dave Allen, the bassist with the legendary post-punk band Gang Of 4, has died on the age of 69.
The information was confirmed on Sunday (April 6) by the group’s drummer Hugo Burnham in a social media put up, during which he famous that Allen had been residing with early onset dementia for a number of years.
“It’s with damaged but full hearts that we share the information that Dave Allen, our previous music accomplice, pal, and good musician, died on Saturday morning. He was at dwelling along with his household,” Burnham wrote.
“Dave had endured the early-onset of blended dementia for some years which has been a heartbreaking time for his spouse Paddy, his youngsters, and shut associates. Our love and ideas are with them. Jon and I [Hugo] went to see him and spent a beautiful afternoon with him and the household. We talked and laughed for hours, sharing wealthy and vivid recollections of fine occasions collectively. 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.”
It’s with damaged but full hearts that we share the information that Dave Allen, our previous music accomplice, pal, and good musician, died on Saturday morning. pic.twitter.com/q5ju3VlZeV
— Gang Of 4 (@gangof4official) April 6, 2025
“We all know that Dave would have needed 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.”
Gang Of 4 fashioned in Leeds in 1976, initially comprised of singer Jon King and guitarist Andy Gill alongside Allen and Burnham. They shortly got here to be one of many emblematic bands of the fertile, eclectic guitar music scene of the late ‘70s, incorporating components of dub, funk and R&B into punk rock.
Their debut album Leisure! in 1979 is taken into account one of many seminal albums within the historical past of post-punk and gave a platform for the band’s left-wing lyrics that drew from Marxist and Situationist philosophy. NME ranked it because the fifth greatest album of 1979.
Gang Of 4 launched their second album Stable Gold in 1981 and shortly afterwards, Allen left the band to type Shriekback, a brand new wave band, with XTC’s Barry Andrews. He would later play within the bands Elastic Purejoy and Low Pop Suicide, and went on to discovered the label World Domination Recordings and work in artist relations at Apple Music.
Allen re-joined Gang Of 4 for his or her reunion in 2004, remaining for the 2005 album ‘Return The Reward’, earlier than departing as soon as once more in 2008.
The band are about to kick off their US farewell tour, which is able to run till the top of Could. Andy Gill of the band handed away in 2020 on the age of 64.
