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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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post-punk, new wave, punk, 80s, indie
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Return the Gift
Gang of Four
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Entertainment!
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Solid Gold
Gang of Four
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Songs of the Free
Gang of Four
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Top Tracks

1	Damaged Goods full track	1,628
2	Natural's Not in It full track	1,423
3	Ether full track	855
4	Not Great Men full track	838
5	At Home He's a Tourist full track	784
6	Return the Gift	768
7	I Found That Essence Rare	752
8	Anthrax full track	652
9	Guns Before Butter	623
10	Glass	543
11	Contract	503
12	Outside the Trains Don't Run On Time	416
13	5.45	396
14	He'd Send In the Army	374
15	It's Her Factory	360

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typicalnewjack wrote:
yesterday afternoon

why do gang of four and wire go together so well? i don't think i've met someone who likes one band, but not the other.

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higginst wrote:
Thursday morning

so far i haven't been able to access this band, hoping that'll change one day

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drussellsdct wrote:
7 days ago

i'm sure glad i just discovered these dudes.

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soulbleed wrote:
last month

gang of four and the wire are both my heroes.

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imnotreal wrote:
last month

soo fucking good. they rule

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Jagbag2 wrote:
last month

gunz b4 butter

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Isai_ wrote:
last month

Signals, Calls and Marches [2]

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TeenageDeathBoy wrote:
last month

@tzeltil I hope you're kidding.

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arenescu wrote:
last month

Damn it, Damo Suzuki was here.

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brentastic wrote:
last month

I spend most of our money on myself so that I can stay fat

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brunoooooo wrote:
last month

nice nice

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newkid7 wrote:
last month

post punk bible lessons for young punk.

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xfuckthecurfewx wrote:
last month

Sick of all the trolling? Join the group.

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Starless_night wrote:
May 2009

What?! They are playing gigs! Lucky Europeans.

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samh-watts wrote:
May 2009

i agree, they should of played alot longer at great escape. fuck curfews and fuck v v brown

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zrazzle wrote:
May 2009

Awesome last night at Great Escape BUT far too short a set. That curfew/late running woman beforehand was complete bullllllllllllllllllsheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit.

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WhitePostPunk wrote:
May 2009

long live andy gill!!

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b3nnehboi wrote:
May 2009

going to see them in sptember ;)

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SimonMagnus wrote:
May 2009

zazzy!

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Rebrebs wrote:
May 2009

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See all 338 shouts

Videos

Events

Jul 16 FIB Heineken 2009 Benicassim, Castellón de la Plana, Spain
3,649 shouts | 973 attendees
Jul 18 Lovebox Weekender 2009 Victoria Park, London, United Kingdom
20 shouts | 245 attendees
Aug 14 Malmöfestivalen Folkets Park, Malmö, Sweden
46 shouts | 203 attendees

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News

Gang of Four to play The Great Escape 2009

8 Apr 2009 | from www.gangoffour.co.uk/

Gang Of Four have today been confirmed to play The Great Escape 2009. They have been added to the line-up for the May 14th-16th Brighton festival. More news to follow, including date and location. …

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Gang Of Four Store
16 Feb 2009 | from www.gangoffour.co.uk/
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Gang Of Four Live In 2006
8 Jan 2009 | from www.gangoffour.co.uk/
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Store Now Open
19 Sep 2008 | from www.gangoffour.co.uk/
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VwieVogel, jamesmandible, JimDarkmagic and 14 other people added Gang of Four to their libraries. 2 hours ago
N1ikis tagged Gang of Four with punk and post punk. Saturday evening
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