Dave Allen, Gang of Four Bassist and Portland Music Industry Consultant, Has Died

The post-punk musician had a robust second act locally at the intersection of music, business and tech.

Dave Allen performing in 2005. (Erin Altomare/Flickr)
By Rachel Saslow

Dave Allen, bassist for seminal post-punk band Gang of Four, died April 5 at home in Portland with his family, according to the band’s announcement on social media. He was 69. He had early-onset mixed dementia.

Allen was in Gang of Four for its 1979 debut, Entertainment!, and the second album, Solid Gold, in 1981. Gang of Four, which formed in Leeds, England, in 1976, is credited with helping to define a funk-inflected post-punk sound that went on to inspire groups like Red Hot Chili Peppers and Nirvana.

“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,” wrote Hugo Burnham in the announcement. “We’ve been so very lucky to have had the Ace of Bass in our lives.”

After Gang of Four’s late ‘70s and early ‘80s heyday, Allen enjoyed a whole second act in the Portland music industry. Most recently, Allen co-founded DinWorkshop in 2018, a consultancy and design studio for musicians. In addition to stints in artist relations at Apple Music and as an advocacy director at Beats Music, Allen also lectured at Pacific Northwest College of Art and University of Oregon. He served as founder and president of Pampelmoose, a Portland music label and artist platform, until 2010.

Leigh Feldman worked at music promotion company Spectre Entertainment Group around that same time, right next door to Pampelmoose’s offices on Northeast Alberta Street. They talked almost daily for five years, often about digital marketing in the music industry.

“Dave was at the forefront of bringing the music, business and tech communities together to truly begin to visualize what the landscape was going to be in the future and how to navigate it together,” Feldman says.

Gang of Four is about to go on “The Long Goodbye” tour in honor of the 45th anniversary of Entertainment!

“We know that Dave would have wanted nothing more than to step onstage with us again in Portland on our farewell U.S. tour,” Burnham wrote.

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