It’s absolutely appropriate that Dave Allen’s bass is the first sound you hear on Entertainment!
Jon is the brilliant singer and frontman. Andy is the sardonic mad scientist. Hugo is somehow simultaneously tight and loosely funky.
Gang of Four would not have been the Gang of Four we love without him. Those first two albums are his.
Solid Gold. Greatest bass-drum interplay since Butler/Ward. It will never not stun me.
Dave splits. Gang of Four is never the same on record again.
Shriekback is fantastic, but Low Pop Suicide changes my life. What an album. What else can I say? Nothing. No scribe can adequately explain the power of Dave Allen circa ’92.
Coachella, 2005. I’m there. So is Flea, who’s watching Dave intently. The band’s on fire. For many of us, OUR Fab Four finally back in action. I focus on the bass throughout.
My journalistic endeavors pick up steam. Chats with Hugo and Andy span years. Dave is elusive, never re-entering the picture after he splits the second time.
Andy becomes the last man standing. Some of the output is damn-near perfect with fine players but missing the feel of the original fellas in the back.
Andy bows for the last time. We get Hugo and Jon back, but not Dave. The 2022 shows are magical. Sara Lee is sensational. The whole thing reconfirms everything I love about the band but still makes me wonder what could have been if... IF...
We’ll never know. We have the records. Listening to “Damaged Goods” as I type. Goddamn, what a band.
I hope Dave knew how much this music means to us.
The final two are about to tour. The Long Goodbye, it’s called. A silly name, really, since there’s no way this music will ever leave all the hearts it’s touched.
Thank you, Hugo and Jon, for keeping it going for one last run. I know you’ll honor Dave and Andy and every lightning bolt we’ve felt from every sound you’ve put to vinyl.
Now go out there and kick fucking ass.
EMAIL JOEL at gaustenbooks@gmail.com
