Gang of Four 'Manipulate the Media' About Songwriting, Former Bassist Says

In 2010, Gang of Four guitarist Andy Gill told Spinner that the pioneering post-punk band still works largely the way it did in late '70s. "A lot of the early songs, I would basically come up with a lot of the bass parts and the drum parts, just as I do now," he said.

That's not how Dave Allen remembers it.

Allen, Gang of Four's original bassist, told author Rick Moody in a recent interview on Allen's website that "the band wrote everything together" on its 1979 debut, 'Entertainment!' "On 'Solid Gold' there were a few songs broken out and credited to whoever wrote them," the bassist said of the band's 1981 follow-up.

Allen left the band after 'Solid Gold' to form Shriekback, and later started World Domination Records. He now works as a digital strategist and commentator in Portland, Ore., though he reunited with Gill, singer Jon King and original Gang of Four drummer Hugo Burnham for a few years starting in 2004. Burnham was replaced in 2006, and Allen left in 2008.

Although he's dismayed that Gill claims credit for Gang of Four's songs, he's hardly surprised.

"Jon and Andrew, they know how to manipulate the media really well, which is kind of ironic, giving what kind of band we are," Allen tells Spinner. "I always prefer to keep the Gang of Four story intact, whereas Jon and Andrew have this tendency to make what I regard as very wild claims."

What's more, Allen says, songwriting sessions during the band's reunion resulted in Allen contributing to the band's new album, 'Content,' which came out Jan. 25.

"Three or four of the songs I've heard on the new album, I actually helped write," Allen says. "My publishers are up in arms about it."

Although Allen didn't play on the album -- bassist Thomas McNiece and drummer Mark Heaney comprise Gang of Four's current rhythm section -- he says it's the principle of the thing.

"This is not meant to be a pissing match," Allen says. "If anything, I'm so unhappy with the way the album turned out that I don't really want to bring a lot of attention to it."

Gang of Four declined to comment.

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