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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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To Hell With Poverty
Gang of Four
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Entertainment!
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Solid Gold
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Songs of the Free
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Top Tracks

1	Damaged Goods full track	1,416
2	Natural's Not In It full track	1,193
3	Not Great Men full track	741
4	Ether full track	728
5	I Found That Essence Rare	659
6	Return the Gift	623
7	At Home He's A Tourist full track	619
8	Anthrax full track	560
9	Guns Before Butter	508
10	Glass	459
11	Contract	403
12	5.45	328
13	He'd Send In the Army	295
14	It's Her Factory	291
15	Outside The Trains Don't Run On Time	273

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Hayzi22 wrote:
5 minutes ago

Gang of Four is my favorite.

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ryanbunting wrote:
Wednesday morning

A lot of people don't like Shrinkwrapped or Mall because everyone feels the need to compare everything to Entertainment! But every Gang of Four album has an evolved version of their sound, and I love all of them - so if you haven't given their other albums a chance, you really need to - some excellent stuff on Shrink and Mall.

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Kohpnyn wrote:
11 days ago

THERE MAY BE OIL

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mattmacneil wrote:
18 days ago

one of the best post-punk bands eVRRr

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BlueGhost60 wrote:
22 days ago

Don't like much punk, but these guys are pretty good.

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Ancore wrote:
28 days ago

perfect sound. awesome band

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CLUEIT wrote:
30 days ago

Every track is so catchy and brilliantly crafted. GOF are genius'!

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cannibalisms wrote:
November 2009

god like.

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silkskinpaws wrote:
November 2009

to hell with poverty, we'll get drunk on cheap wine

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presuming-ed wrote:
November 2009

modest record sales compared to their contemporaries maybe but underrated never

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ashleyrobb wrote:
November 2009

these guys are the truth !

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jonasminduim wrote:
November 2009

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:
November 2009

and rhcp are gash

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champagneocean wrote:
November 2009

love'll get you like a case of anthrax

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CountDegobineau wrote:
November 2009

When I heard this in 1982 my life changed. How? I'm still trying to figure that out.

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RadioheadFACE wrote:
November 2009

GOODBYE GOODBYE GOODBYE GOODBYE

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kingofklang wrote:
November 2009

luv these fuckers.

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ThePanWithin wrote:
October 2009

Sunday I'm finally going to see them live!

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aarondrewg wrote:
October 2009

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:
October 2009

gang of 4

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1 comment

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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