Gang of Four

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Leeds, England (1977 – 1984, 2005 – present)

Gang of Four are a British post-punk group from Leeds, England. Original personnel were singer Jon King, guitarist Andy Gill, bass guitarist Dave Allen and drummer Hugo Burnham. They were fully active from 1977 to 1984, and then re-emerged twice in the 1990s with King and Gill. In 2005, the original lineup reunited.

The group had a single in the British Top 60 with “At Home He’s A Tourist” in 1979, which was blacklisted by Top Of The Pops for its use of the relatively innocuous term “rubbers”. Storming, Doc Marten-booted and fueled by a heady cocktail of Gramsci, Marx and lager, out of the Leeds art-school scene that produced The Mekons and Delta 5, they played a stripped-to-the-wire, funk-fueled permutation of punk rock. This is best exemplified by the dry production and forceful polemic of debut effort Entertainment! - Gang of Four’s later albums (Songs Of The Free and Hard) found them softening some of their more jarring qualities, and drifting towards disco.

Critic Stewart Mason has called “Love Like Anthrax” (their first single, later re-recorded as “Anthrax”) not only the group’s “most notorious song” but also “one of the most unique and interesting songs of its time”; it’s also a good example of Gang of Four’s social perspective. After a minute-long, droning, feedback-laced guitar intro, the rhythm section sets up a funky, churning beat, and the guitar drops out entirely. In one stereo channel, King sings a “post-punk anti-love song”, comparing himself to a beetle trapped on its back (“and there’s no way for me to get up”) and equating love with “a case of anthrax, and that’s some thing I don’t want to catch.

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Gang of Four Hit Pac - 5 Series
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Entertainment!
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Solid Gold
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Top Tracks

1	Damaged Goods	1,289
2	Natural's Not In It	1,118
3	Not Great Men	572
4	Ether	557
5	At Home He's A Tourist	556
6	Return the Gift	533
7	I Found That Essence Rare	483
8	Anthrax	432
9	Guns Before Butter	365
10	Glass	328
11	5.45	312
12	Contract	308
13	Outside The Trains Don't Run On Time	292
14	He'd Send In the Army	246
15	It's Her Factory	236

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huelsi2

entertainment!

last month
radiogra7

It's been over a year since I got it and I still play Entertainment! every day, generally all of the way through.

last month
captainpopovich

if yall like this, check out http://hauntedhorses.bandcamp.com/

last month
AlCapwnUK

Gang of Four, Wire and The Fall.

December 2011
cdax2307

i'm shout 600

December 2011
northernbeach

What do you think about my band? You'll find us here: http://www.facebook.com/northernbeach

December 2011
morris21

Pure class

December 2011
thaynalmeida

Cadillac

December 2011
more-post-punk

Hello, in this week's post-punk update: 2 new bands entered the top10, and 4 had to step down, is in the top5 list. The analysis includes >270 bands from "post-punk" last.fm groups, Gang Of Four http://www.last.fm/user/more-post-punk/journal

December 2011
megsins

Another Day/Another Hour 12" is definitely some of the best music ever made

December 2011
madameobscure

<3

November 2011
Anira_Sugar

Entertainment! one of my tops fav albums ever

November 2011
chimbonda

The corpse is a new personality.

November 2011
Salvatore_Smith

@prominence_la: I do like Solid Gold

October 2011
prominence_la

Are any of their other albums worth listening to? Surely Entertainment! can't be their only masterpiece (although it's clearly the greatest).

September 2011
LifeHatesMe

Holy shit, I've just realized this band is the main Fugazi influence :O

August 2011
hamisugar

classic guitar !!!

August 2011
MarioYoho

http://www.last.fm/music/Gang+Of+Four/+images/67686864 OFF Festival

August 2011
diss_everything

they definitely should... seeing them live brings only pain to one's heart

August 2011
twistedlane

they should just stop playing live.

August 2011

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New York Times article on Thatcher and GO4
3 Oct 2011 | from www.gangoffour.co.uk
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‘Not Great Men’ performed by a Gamelan Orchestra
12 Sep 2011 | from www.gangoffour.co.uk
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Andy in the studio with The Kills & Cage The Elephant
12 Sep 2011 | from www.gangoffour.co.uk
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Gang of Four – Natural's Not In It
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Gang of Four – To Hell With Poverty!

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