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Gang of Four Co-Founder Dave Allen Dies at 69


Dave Allen, the founding bassist of the highly influential British post-punk band Gang of Four and the funk-inflected group Shriekback, has died.

Their debut album, the sarcastically titled “Entertainment!,” combined socialist-leaning, anticapitalist lyrics with powerful, driving rhythms — the songs “Damaged Goods” and “I Found That Essence Rare” are classics of the era. Shortly after Gang Of Four released their second LP Solid Gold in 1981, Allen departed the band to form Shriekback, a new wave-leaning project whose members included former XTC keyboardist Barry Andrews and singer Carl Marsh. Allen later founded World Domination Recordings and performed with the label’s bands Elastic Purejoy and Low Pop Suicide, and later with the groups King Swamp and Faux Hoax; he also worked with a reformed Gang of Four in the ‘00s.

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Dave Allen, Gang of Four and Shriekback Bassist, Dead at 69