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Gang of Four
4,089,309 plays (309,027 listeners)
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.
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.
Top Albums
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To Hell With Poverty
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John Peel Session 2nd July 1979
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Entertainment!
Gang of Four
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Solid Gold
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Damaged Goods
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Natural's Not In It
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Ether
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Not Great Men
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At Home He's A Tourist
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Anthrax
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Shoutbox
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silkskinpaws wrote:
to hell with poverty, we'll get drunk on cheap wine
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presuming-ed wrote:
modest record sales compared to their contemporaries maybe but underrated never
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ashleyrobb wrote:
these guys are the truth !
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jonasminduim wrote:
it's amazing how underrated they are, given that much of the so-called 'indie rock' of the 00's isn't much more than a re-hash of their sound.
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champagneocean wrote:
and rhcp are gash
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champagneocean wrote:
love'll get you like a case of anthrax
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CountDegobineau wrote:
When I heard this in 1982 my life changed. How? I'm still trying to figure that out.
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RadioheadFACE wrote:
GOODBYE GOODBYE GOODBYE GOODBYE
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kingofklang wrote:
luv these fuckers.
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ThePanWithin wrote:
Sunday I'm finally going to see them live!
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aarondrewg wrote:
They have stated in many interviews that the sound of Entertainment! was a great influence on them. Andy Gill produced their first album. From punk-funk to funk-rock. Go figure....
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thetrogg wrote:
gang of 4
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kingrizla wrote:
@aarondrewg - Regardless of your opinion that is a spectacularly pointless statement given the total lack of any similarity in the bands.
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aarondrewg wrote:
Red Hot Chili Peppers are better.
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DesireeGomez wrote:
Inarguably, the best of post-punk.
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CLUEIT wrote:
I Fled <3
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GroovyPeople wrote:
Why theory when you can get your punk funk on?
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toddc2001 wrote:
Check out our interview with bassist Dave Allen; http://thedumbingofamerica.net/2009/10/02/history-lesson-dave-allen/
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Jedidude77 wrote:
emi is so indie
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punkmode wrote:
Cheeseburger! Cheeseburger! Cheeseburger!
Videos
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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/ -
Gang Of Four Live In 2006
8 Jan 2009 | from www.gangoffour.co.uk/ -
Store Now Open
19 Sep 2008 | from www.gangoffour.co.uk/
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Recent Activity
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acid-fetus, landingcroton and breese76108 added Gang of Four to their libraries. 8 hours ago
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mattmacneil wrote about Gang of Four in a deleted journal. 13 hours ago
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mattmacneil wrote about Gang of Four in 52 Songs with Choruses that outshine the Verses.. 13 hours ago
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zlatinka, herrtilltimm, mishkaness and 7 other people added Gang of Four to their libraries. 15 hours ago
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andriyfo tagged Gang of Four with indie, punk and post-punk. yesterday afternoon
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Schizon and 2 other people added Gang of Four to their libraries. yesterday afternoon
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sonicine tagged Gang of Four with punk, new-wave and 80s. yesterday morning
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sonicine added Gang of Four to sonicine’s library. yesterday morning
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textbooktraitor tagged Gang of Four with ‘post-punk’. Wednesday evening
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AL-ice tagged Gang of Four with english and seen live. Wednesday evening
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