David M. Allen (born 26 June 1953) is an English

record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure. Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the limit ...

and mixer. He is mostly known for his work with new wave,

synth-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s ...

and

goth rock Gothic rock (also called goth rock or simply goth) is a style of rock music that emerged from post-punk in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s. The first post-punk bands which shifted toward dark music with gothic overtones include Siouxsie an ...

bands including

the Cure The Cure are an English Rock music, rock band formed in 1978 in Crawley, Crawley, West Sussex. Throughout numerous lineup changes since the band's formation, guitarist, lead vocalist, and songwriter Robert Smith (musician), Robert Smith has re ...

the Sisters of Mercy The Sisters of Mercy is an English rock band, formed in 1980 in Leeds. After achieving early underground fame there, the band had their commercial breakthrough in the mid-1980s and sustained it until the early 1990s, when they stopped releasin ...

the Chameleons The Chameleons are an English rock band, formed in Middleton, Greater Manchester in 1981. The band's classic line-up consisted of lead vocalist and bassist Mark Burgess, guitarists Reg Smithies and Dave Fielding, and drummer John Lever. The ...

Depeche Mode Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in Basildon, Essex, in 1980. The band currently consists of Dave Gahan (lead vocals and co-songwriting) and Martin Gore (keyboards, guitar, co-lead vocals and main songwriting). Depeche ...

, the Mission, the Associates,

the Human League The Human League are an English synth-pop band formed in Sheffield in 1977. Initially an experimental electronic outfit, the group signed to Virgin Records in 1979 and later attained widespread commercial success with their third album ''Dare' ...

Clan of Xymox Clan of Xymox, also known as simply Xymox, are a Dutch rock band from Nijmegen formed in 1981 best known as pioneers of darkwave music. Clan of Xymox featured a trio of singers and songwriters – Ronny Moorings, Anka Wolbert, and Pieter Noot ...

Gianna Nannini Gianna Nannini (; born 14 June 1954Who Is Who
''Bello e possibile'' ...

Shelleyan Orphan Shelleyan Orphan were a British alternative music group that peaked during the 1980s and early 1990s. They played a style of pop influenced by chamber music, and which featured dual male-female vocals. Career In 1980, Caroline Crawley and Jem ...

and others. He also produced

Neneh Cherry Neneh Mariann Karlsson (born 10 March 1964), better known as Neneh Cherry, is a Swedish singer-songwriter, rapper, occasional DJ and broadcaster. Her musical career started in London in the early 1980s, where she performed in a number of punk roc ...

's hit album ''

Man A man is an adult male human. Prior to adulthood, a male human is referred to as a boy (a male child or adolescent). Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chromos ...

''. He created Blank Multimedia in 1994, which operated from the home of XFM from 1995 to 1997, designed websites for

Chrysalis A pupa ( la, pupa, "doll"; plural: ''pupae'') is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in their ...

and

Rough Trade Records Rough Trade Records is an independent record label based in London, England. It was formed in 1976 by Geoff Travis who had opened a record store off Ladbroke Grove. Having successfully promoted and sold records by punk rock and early post-pun ...

, and made an interactive cross-platform CD+ featuring The Plunge Club with music from Andy M. Wright. Blank also organised a 24-hour Internet art gallery, groundbreaking for the era. In 2022, for

Record Store Day Record Store Day is an annual event inaugurated in 2007 and held on one Saturday (typically the third) every April and every Black Friday in November to "celebrate the culture of the independently owned record store". The day brings together fa ...

UK, he is releasing a vinyl album, ''DNA of DMA'' on the Themsay label. This is an historical artefact from 1980 consisting mainly of solo written and produced tracks. These tracks led to a position of programmer and engineer at

Genetic Studios Genetic Studios (also known as Genetic Sound) was a recording studio in Streatley, England. History Genetic was established in 1980 by Martin Rushent and Alan Winstanley. The facility was built in a barn at Rushent's home in Streatley. Rushent ...

in early 1981. This vinyl album was made record of the week by ''JunoDaily''.JunoDaily
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Selected discography (as producer)

Studio albums

The Members The Members are a British punk band that originated in Camberley, Surrey, England. In the UK, they are best known for their single "The Sound of the Suburbs", reaching No. 12 in 1979, and in Australia, "Radio" which reached No. 5 in 1982. Car ...

– '' Going West'' *

The Cure The Cure are an English Rock music, rock band formed in 1978 in Crawley, Crawley, West Sussex. Throughout numerous lineup changes since the band's formation, guitarist, lead vocalist, and songwriter Robert Smith (musician), Robert Smith has re ...

– '' The Top'' *The Cure – ''

The Head on the Door ''The Head on the Door'' is the sixth studio album by English rock band the Cure. It was released on 30 August 1985 by Fiction Records. Preceded by the single "In Between Days" which had reached No. 15 on the UK Singles Chart, ''The Head on the D ...

'' *The Cure – '' Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me'' *The Cure – '' Disintegration'' *The Cure – ''

Wish A wish is a hope or desire for something. In fiction, wishes can be used as plot devices. In folklore, opportunities for "making a wish" or for wishes to "come true" or "be granted" are themes that are sometimes used. In fiction In fiction a ...

'' * 12 Drummers Drumming – ''Loveless'' *

The Sisters of Mercy The Sisters of Mercy is an English rock band, formed in 1980 in Leeds. After achieving early underground fame there, the band had their commercial breakthrough in the mid-1980s and sustained it until the early 1990s, when they stopped releasin ...

– '' First and Last and Always'' *

Richard Strange Richard "Kid" Strange (born January 1951) is an English writer, actor, musician, and curator, who was the founder and front man of mid-1970s protopunk art rock band Doctors of Madness. Music Strange's first band was Doctors of Madness, formed ...

and The Engine Room – Going Gone *

The Chameleons The Chameleons are an English rock band, formed in Middleton, Greater Manchester in 1981. The band's classic line-up consisted of lead vocalist and bassist Mark Burgess, guitarists Reg Smithies and Dave Fielding, and drummer John Lever. The ...

– '' Strange Times'' *The Chameleons – ''

Why Call It Anything ''Why Call It Anything'' is the fourth and final album of original material and fifth studio album overall by English rock band the Chameleons. It was recorded from 2000 to 2001 and released 1 July 2001 on record label Artful. The album marked ...

'' * The Associates – ''Waiting for the Love Boat'' *

Wire Overhead power cabling. The conductor consists of seven strands of steel (centre, high tensile strength), surrounded by four outer layers of aluminium (high conductivity). Sample diameter 40 mm A wire is a flexible strand of metal. Wire is c ...

– ''

Manscape ''Manscape'' is the seventh studio album by the British post-punk group Wire, released in May 1990 by Mute Records. It was produced by David M. Allen, mostly recorded and mixed at RAK Studios, engineered by Roy Spong, and published by Dying Ar ...

'' *

Gianna Nannini Gianna Nannini (; born 14 June 1954Who Is Who
''Bello e possibile'' ...

– ''Scandalo'' * Stefan Eicher – ''Combien de Temps'' *Stefan Eicher – ''My Place'' *Poems for Laila – ''La filette triste'' *Gianna Nannini – '' X Forza E X Amore'' *Gianna Nannini – '' Dispetto'' * The Damned – '' Not of This Earth'' *

Frente Frente! (or Frente) were an Australian folk- pop and indie pop group which originally formed in 1989. The original line-up consisted of Simon Austin on guitar and backing vocals, Angie Hart on lead vocals, Tim O'Connor on bass guitar (later re ...

– ''

Shape A shape or figure is a graphics, graphical representation of an object or its external boundary, outline, or external Surface (mathematics), surface, as opposed to other properties such as color, Surface texture, texture, or material type. A pl ...

'' * Feline – ''

Save Your Face ''Save Your Face'' is the debut album by British alternative rock group Feline and was released worldwide in 1997. It was preceded by "Just As You Are", the video of which was picked up by MTV Europe. The following year, the album was repackaged ...

'' * Fra Lippo Lippi – ''

Songs A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetition ...

'' *

– ''

'' * The Mission – '' Aura'' *The Mission – '' The Brightest Light'' *David M. Allen – ''The Genetic Tape'' *

Sennen Sennen (''Cornish: Sen Senan'' or ''Sen Senana'') is a coastal civil parish and a village in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. Sennen village is situated approximately eight miles (13 km) west-southwest of Penzance.Ordnance Survey: Landra ...

– ''Lost Harmony'' *

The Psychedelic Furs The Psychedelic Furs are a post-punk band founded in London in February 1977. Led by lead vocalist Richard Butler and his brother Tim Butler on bass guitar, the Psychedelic Furs are one of the many acts spawned from the British post-punk scene ...

– '' Book of Days''

Live albums

– ''

Concert A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or band. Concerts are held in a wide variety a ...

'' *

Gianna Nannini Gianna Nannini (; born 14 June 1954Who Is Who
''Bello e possibile'' ...

– '' Giannissima''

Singles

* Dead or Alive – " Misty Circles" *

– "

It's Called a Heart "It's Called a Heart" is a song by English electronic music band Depeche Mode, released as a single on 16 September 1985. "It's Called a Heart" was one of two new songs on the 1985 compilation albums ''The Singles 81→85'' and ''Catching Up wi ...

" * Fra Lippo Lippi – "

Shouldn't Have to Be Like That "Shouldn't Have to Be Like That" is a song by Norwegian new wave band Fra Lippo Lippi, released in 1986 as a double A-side single with "The Distance Between Us". Both songs are from their third album, ''Songs''. The single charted in several co ...

" *Yassassin – "Pretty Face" *Yassassin – "Cherry Pie"

Remixes

– "

Route 66 U.S. Route 66 or U.S. Highway 66 (US 66 or Route 66) was one of the original highways in the United States Numbered Highway System. It was established on November 11, 1926, with road signs erected the following year. The h ...

" *

Thomas Leer Thomas Leer (born Thomas Wishart, 1953, Port Glasgow, Scotland) is a Scottish musician. He has released a number of albums and singles as a solo artist, and was also one half (the other being Claudia Brücken) of the 1980s electropop band Act (ba ...

– "Heartbeat" *

The Human League The Human League are an English synth-pop band formed in Sheffield in 1977. Initially an experimental electronic outfit, the group signed to Virgin Records in 1979 and later attained widespread commercial success with their third album ''Dare' ...

– " Life on Your Own"

Films

– ''

The Cure in Orange ''The Cure in Orange'' is a concert film by British rock group The Cure. It was shot on 35mm film at the Théâtre antique d'Orange in the French countryside (Orange, Vaucluse), on 8, 9, and 10 August 1986. Band members Robert Smith (Vocals & g ...

'' *Conny Plank: The Potential of Noise (2017)

References

External links

David M. Allen Discogs
{{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, David M. Living people English record producers English audio engineers English male singers English songwriters English rock musicians English new wave musicians 1953 births Musicians from Twickenham British male songwriters