Chance Meeting
Friday September 12th, 2025 with Heavy Ben
Coversions XVIII: Dave Allen (Gang Of Four, Shriekback)

Chance meeting on a spine of a bassline and consumer capitalism Coversions XVIII: covers | versions | edits | dubs | remixes I just read about the underreported passing of Dave Allen, who died in April after suffering from dementia, aged 69. Dave Allen's groove-driven bass playing helped define the edge and urgency of post-punk. Let's take a step toward making Dave Allen a household name. Dave Allen was born in Westmorland, England in 1955 and rose to prominence as the original bassist for Gang of Four. With their groundbreaking 1979 debut album Entertainment!, Allen’s sharp, syncopated bass lines became the backbone of a sound that mixed punk’s raw energy with funk’s rhythmic punch and a fiercely political message. His playing was aggressive, minimalist, and danceable. This contradiction somehow made perfect sense in the disillusioned landscape of late-1970s Britain. Creem magazine's Dave DiMartino said in 1980 "Watching the Gang Of Four perform at Bookie's Club 870 and realizing that as great as the records are, the band in live performance is even better. There's rhythm, always rhythm, provided by Burnham's steady drums and Dave Allen's absolutely superb funk basswork". With guitarist Andy Gill and singer Jon King, the band's uncompromising political lyrics and attitude kept them from being pop stars. Instead, they refused to change a lyric the BBC found offensive for a planned "Top of the Pops" appearance. As Curtis Crowe from Pylon (who opened Gang of Four’s first U.S. show) says in the book included in the 77-81 collection, "Gang of Four was first and foremost a live-wire act and I always felt the recordings failed to do them justice. It seemed like trying to photograph lightning." While critically acclaimed at the time, they did not make much money or gain wide popularity in the early years. However, Gang Of Four's influence was patently obvious with the 2000s post-punk revival and dance rock. Like Marty McFly said, "I guess you guys aren’t ready for that yet. But your kids are gonna love it." After leaving Gang of Four in 1981, Dave Allen founded Shriekback alongside Barry Andrews, formerly of XTC and the League of Gentlemen. Shriekback fused new wave, funk, and art-rock with brooding, cerebral textures and "insidiously weird vocals". Beyond his work as a musician, Allen wore many hats: label founder (World Domination Recordings), digital strategist (Fight), and tech thinker (Beats Music, Intel, Apple). Today's Coversions on Chance Meeting explores live recordings, 12" single versions, remixes, dubs, and an old demo. Turn up the bass! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave_Allen_(bassist) https://pitchfork.com/news/gang-of-four-bassist-dave-allen-dies-at-69/ https://www.stereogum.com/2303262/former-gang-of-four-bassist-dave-allen-dead-at-69/news/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gang_of_Four_(band) https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2025/jun/16/gang-of-four-made-entertainment-national-front-swastikas https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shriekback (to embiggen the show icon, right-click and choose "Open image in new tab")