"entertainment"Year: 1978
Label: Universal
Format: CD, LP
Tracks: 12
Time: 36 min.
Genre: rock
Style: Punk
Gang of Four are a british punk band, formed in 1976 in Leeds. The original members were singer Jon King, guitarist Andy Gill, bass guitarist Dave Allen and drummer Hugo Burnham. There have been many different line-ups including, among other notable musicians, Sara Lee, Mark Heaney and Gail Ann Dorsey. After a brief lull in the 1980s, different constellations of the band recorded two studio albums in the 1990s. Between 2004 and 2006 the original line-up was reunited.
The band played a stripped-down mix of punk, funk and dub, with a lyrical emphasis on the social and political ills of society. Gang of Four are widely considered one of the leading bands of the late 70s and early 80s post-punk movement. Their debut album, Entertainment, was ranked as fifth greatest punk album of all time and at Number 483 in Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. The album was listed by Pitchfork Media as the 8th best album of the 1970s. Their early 80s albums (Songs of the Free and Hard) found them softening some of their more jarring qualities, and drifting towards dance-punk and disco. David Fricke of Rolling Stone described Gang of Four as "probably the best politically motivated band in rock & roll."
The band played a stripped-down mix of punk, funk and dub, with a lyrical emphasis on the social and political ills of society. Gang of Four are widely considered one of the leading bands of the late 70s and early 80s post-punk movement. Their debut album, Entertainment, was ranked as fifth greatest punk album of all time and at Number 483 in Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. The album was listed by Pitchfork Media as the 8th best album of the 1970s. Their early 80s albums (Songs of the Free and Hard) found them softening some of their more jarring qualities, and drifting towards dance-punk and disco. David Fricke of Rolling Stone described Gang of Four as "probably the best politically motivated band in rock & roll."
The band initially consisted of vocalist Jon King, guitarist Andy Gill, drummer Hugo Burnham and bass guitarist Dave Wolfson. After two or three gigs, Wolfson was replaced with Dave Allen. Gang of Four's music brought together an eclectic array of influences, ranging from the critical marxist: Frankfurt School of social criticism to the increasingly clear trans-Atlantic punk consensus. Gang of Four was named by Andy Corrigan, a member of The Mekons, while driving around with Gill and King when he came upon a newspaper billboard on the intra-Party coup against China's "Gang of Four".
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"solid gold"Year: 1981
Label: Universal
Format: CD, LP
Tracks: 10
Time: 30 min.
Genre: rock
Style: Post Punk
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Year: 1982
Label: Universal
Format: CD, LP
Tracks: 10
Time: 40 min.
Genre: electronic
Style: New Wave
Fueled by the fury of punk and far left political theory, Gang of
Four successfully welded the two in an inspired display of polemics and
music that addressed the vagaries of life in the modern world (including
love and romance) as matters of political inquiry. Only within the context of Entertainment! and Solid Gold does Songs of the Free seem truly weak; otherwise, it has its merits and lasting value but doesn't hold up in invention and influence like its predecessors. Clunky rhythms, lumpen tempos, and morbid existentialism dampen some the songs, making the record seem less assertive and defiant. Funk plays more of a definitive role here, defenestrating the frenetics that characterized the earlier records. With bassist Dave Allen out of the fold for Shriekback, the rhythmic chemistry isn't what it used to be. Replacement Sara Lee is excellently skilled, but she doesn't have the rapport with drummer Hugo Burnham that Allen had. There's a certain dour moodiness apparent in the production, most obvious in Andy Gill's guitar on "Call Me Up"; he's less incisive, used more as an atmospheric and rhythmic device than for the dagger shots he provided before. "I Love a Man in a Uniform" wound up being the band's most well-known song, which is something of a shame. Not weak in any manner, it's just unfortunate that more exciting singles like "At Home He's a Tourist" and "Damaged Goods" didn't catch fire. Nonetheless, "Uniform" found its spot down on the disco floor; ironically, odds are pretty good that most didn't realize the lyrical content of the song. With its chorus led by female singers, "Uniform" could be mistaken for something similar in subject to "It's Raining Men." Not the case, as the song is laden with just as much irony as Go4's early album titles. Soldiers sexy! Rifles erotic! Amputations -- well, the picture is clear. [Songs of the Free was reissued in 1995 on Warner subsidiary Infinite Zero/American, with a dub mix of "I Love a Man in Uniform." (*Review by Andy Kellman ).
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"shrinkwrapped"Year: 1995
Label: Castle
Format: CD
Tracks: 10
Time: 36 min.
Genre: rock
Style: Indie Rock
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Year: 2010
Label: Grönland
Format: CD, LP
Tracks: 10
Time: 38 min.
Genre: rock
Style: Funk Rock
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Year: 2015
Label: Metropolis
Format: CD, LP
Tracks: 10
Time: 40 min.
Genre: rock
Style: Alternative Rock
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Year: 2019
Label: none
Format: CD, LP
Tracks: 10
Time: 36 min.
Genre: rock
Style: Post Punk
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