Bassist and producer
Dave Allen has been an influential part of the rock scene since the '80s. Although calling his label World Domination might be overstating the case, he certainly developed a solid fan base through his playing with the popular
Gang of Four, and went on to be an important part of the somewhat more groovy
Shriekback. The former band got together in 1977 when
Allen and fellow bandmates
Jon King,
Andy Gill, and
Hugo Burnham were still students at Leeds University. Over the next six years,
Gang of Four would create some of the favorite music of the post-punk generation, and
Allen was in on a good deal of it, leaving in 1982 for
Shriekback, a band with more of a beat and less of a political mission.
Barry Andrews, a vocalist and keyboardist who had previously been with
XTC, and guitarist Carl Marsh were among the bassist's collaborators in this new band.
Shriekback had a chart single with "Hand on My Heart" in the gloomy political climate of 1984. Keyboardist
Steve Halliwell became part of
Shriekback's expanded touring band, and continued creating music with
Allen on projects such as
the Sky Cries Mary. In the '90s,
Allen set up his World Domination imprint and can certainly be said to be a hands-on-the-frets producer, almost always featuring himself on some bass parts on recordings such as
Third State by Pinpoint. The
Elastic Purejoy projects -- so far, two albums including the intricate
Clutter of Pop -- are
Allen's most personal recordings to date.
–
Eugene Chadbourne, Rovi