Minneapolis this week lost a key figure in that city’s now-legendary ’80s underground rock scene: guitarist Bruce C. Allen of New Wave act The Suburbs, the first band to be released by the seminal Twin/Tone label.

According to the Star Tribune, Allen, 54, died Monday night after being taken off life support. He’d been hospitalized last week with internal bleeding and organ failure, complications from a triple bypass surgery he underwent last year.

The surviving members of the Suburbs issued a statement Tuesday, praising Allen for “contributing his unique guitar skills and warm and funny personality to a band and moment in music that many have recognized made a difference in Minnesota pop culture.”

Known for mixing rock, New Wave and funk, The Suburbs formed in 1977 and released their self-titled debut EP that year on Twin/Tone. The band issued several releases on the Twin Cities label in the early ’80s before jumping to major labels Mercury Records and A&M. The group disbanded in 1987, but later reunited for sporadic concerts.

Twin/Tone co-founder Peter Jesperson told the Star Tribune that Allen’s guitar playing and “stylish appearance” always helped the Suburbs stand out: “They never made that big splash elsewhere, but locally they were like the Rolling Stones, always a big deal when they played a show. He always looked cool. A lot of the bands copied him.”

Allen also was an accomplished graphic designer, creating his own band’s five-men-in-a-circle logo, as well one for Twin/Tone. Most famously, he designed the iconic album cover for The Replacements’ Let It Be.

The Suburbs are one of my wife's favorite 80s bands (she went to school in Wisconsin). There's some nice guitar work on those records. And 54 is way too young.

Thanks for sharing this with us, Pete. I hadn't heard anything about this tragic news, and my condolences go out to Bruce Allen's family and bandmates.

I had recently been wondering what became of The Suburbs, having listened to my old vinyl copy of the "Love Is The Law" album right before Halloween (gotta love that song "Monster Man", and the catchy title song used to get considerable airplay back in the good ol' days of "college radio"). It seemed like The Suburbs never really got their due for the part they played in the development of the Minneapolis music scene in the early 80's (Replacements, Husker Du, Soul Asylum etc)

I'm surprised so few noticed this. I agree-The Suburbs were really important to the whole Minneapolis scene and this is sad news.