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For other uses, see Gang of Four (disambiguation).
Gang of Four
Gang of Four performing in Bergen, Norway in 2007
Gang of Four performing in Bergen, Norway in 2007
Background information
Origin Leeds, England
Genre(s) Post-punk
Years active 1977–present
Label(s) V2 Records
EMI
Warner Bros. Records
PVC/Jem
Fast Product
Website Official site
Members
Jon King
Andy Gill
Former members
Dave Allen
Hugo Burnham
Sara Lee

Gang of Four are an English post-punk group from Leeds. is the second largest city in Norway. It is located on the south-western coast of Norway in the county of Hordaland in between a group of mountains known as De syv fjell Leeds ( is located on the River Aire in West Yorkshire, England England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland A music genre is a categorical and typological construct that identifies musical sounds as belonging to a particular category and type of music that can be distinguished from other Post-punk was a popular musical movement in the mid to late 1970s following on the heels of the initial Punk rock explosion of the early 1970s In the Music industry, a record label can be a Brand and a Trademark associated with the Marketing of music recordings and Music V2 redirects here For the rocket see V-2 rocket. For other meanings see V2 (disambiguation. The EMI Group is a British music company comprising the major record company EMI Music – which operates several labels and is based in Kensington in Warner Bros Records Inc is an American Record label that operates as a wholly owned Subsidiary of Warner Music Group. Fast Product was an Independent record label, established in Edinburgh Scotland by Bob Last in December 1977. Jon King, born June 1955 is a singer musician and founding member of the Leeds based UK rock band Gang of Four. Andy Gill (born 1 January 1956) is a founding member and guitarist for the English rock group Gang of Four, considered among the most Dave Allen (born December 1955 was the Bass guitarist for the Post-punk band Gang of Four. Hugo Burnham was born on 25 March 1956. He is the Drummer for the English rock group Gang of Four. Sara Lee is an English Bassist and singer-songwriter best known for replacing Dave Allen on bass guitar in Post-punk band Gang of Four. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland Post-punk was a popular musical movement in the mid to late 1970s following on the heels of the initial Punk rock explosion of the early 1970s Leeds ( is located on the River Aire in West Yorkshire, England Original personnel were singer Jon King, guitarist Andy Gill, bass guitarist Dave Allen and drummer Hugo Burnham. Jon King, born June 1955 is a singer musician and founding member of the Leeds based UK rock band Gang of Four. Andy Gill (born 1 January 1956) is a founding member and guitarist for the English rock group Gang of Four, considered among the most Dave Allen (born December 1955 was the Bass guitarist for the Post-punk band Gang of Four. Hugo Burnham was born on 25 March 1956. He is the Drummer for the English rock group Gang of Four. They were fully active from 1977 to 1984, and then re-emerged twice in the 1990s with King and Gill. In 2004, the original line-up reunited and stayed together until 2008.

They play a stripped-down mix of punk rock, with strong elements of funk music, minimalism and dub reggae and an emphasis on the social and political ills in society. Funk is an American musical style that originated in the mid- to late-1960s when African American musicians blended Soul music, Soul Dub is a form of music which evolved from Reggae in the late 1960s Gang of Four's later albums (Songs of the Free and Hard) found them softening some of their more jarring qualities, and drifting towards dance-funk and disco. Songs of the Free is the third studio album by Gang of Four. In 1996 Infinite Zero Archive/ American Recordings label issued it on CD, with Hard or "hardness" may refer to Hardness, resistance of physical materials to change under force Disco is a Genre of dance-oriented music whose origins are hard to define Their debut album, Entertainment!, ranked at #490 in Rolling Stone's The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Entertainment! is the 1979 debut album by English Post-punk band Gang of Four. Rolling Stone is a United States -based Magazine devoted to Music, Politics, and Popular culture that is published David Fricke in Rolling Stone 1980 said "Gang of Four are probably the best politically motivated dance band in rock & roll. "

Contents

History

Gill and King, the creative forces in the band, brought together an eclectic array of influences, ranging from the neo-Marxist Frankfurt School of social criticism to the increasingly clear trans-Atlantic punk consensus. Neo-Marxism is a loose term for various Twentieth-century approaches that amend or extend Marxism and Marxist theory, usually by incorporating elements The Frankfurt School is a school of neo-Marxist Critical theory, Social research, and Philosophy. In fact the term "Gang of Four" refers to the "big four" Structuralist theorists: Claude Lévi-Strauss, Michel Foucault, Roland Barthes, and Jacques Lacan, not to be confused with the Maoist Gang of Four in China. For the use of structuralism in biology see Structuralism (biology Structuralism is an approach to the human sciences that attempts to analyze Claude Lévi-Strauss (klod levi stʁos born 28 November 1908 is a French Anthropologist. Michel Foucault ( (15 October 1926 – 25 June 1984 was a French philosopher, Historian, Intellectual, Critic and Sociologist. Roland Barthes ( November 12, 1915 &ndash March 25, 1980) (ʀɔlɑ̃ baʀt was a French Literary critic, literary Jacques-Marie-Émile Lacan (French ʒak lakɑ̃ ( April 13, 1901 &ndash September 9, 1981) was a French Psychoanalyst Maoism, variably and officially known as Mao Zedong Thought ( is a variant of Marxism derived from the teachings of the late Chinese leader

Their musical work was heavily influenced by a university-funded trip to New York, where they saw Television and the Ramones at CBGB. New York ( is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous Television, formed in New York City in 1973 is an American Rock music band The Ramones were an American rock band often regarded as the first Punk rock group CBGB ( Country, Blue Grass, and Blues) was a music club at 315 Bowery at Bleecker Street in the borough of Manhattan

Gill's unique guitar sound had a forebear in the playing of Wilko Johnson, the frenetic guitarist with archetypal British pub rockers Dr. Feelgood. Wilko Johnson (born John Wilkinson, 12 July 1947 Canvey Island, Essex) is a English Guitarist and Songwriter, particularly Dr Feelgood are a British pub rock band, which was formed in mid 1971 Gill's skeletal, staccato, aggressive guitar has proved an enduring influence in turn. [1] Jon King's threatening on-stage dancing, while equally idiosyncratic, has proved less easy to imitate. Paul Morley described the band's music as "a kind of demented funk, incredibly white but also, because of political commitment and defiant sloganeering, very dark, and ultimately as close to the depraved edge of the blues and Hendrix. " Critic Greil Marcus found his first viewing of the group's performance so shattering that he left after their set rather than risk having the impact of the deeply political Gang of Four's songs dampened by the pop-punk of Buzzcocks. Greil Marcus (born 1945 is an American Author, music Journalist and cultural Critic. Buzzcocks are an English Punk rock band formed in Manchester in 1975 [2]

The Gang's debut single, "Damaged Goods" b/w "Love Like Anthrax" and "Armalite Rifle", was recorded in June 1978 and released on 10 December 1978, on Edinburgh's Fast Product label. Edinburgh ( ˈɛdɪnb(ərə Dùn Èideann) is the Capital of Scotland and is its second largest city after Glasgow. Fast Product was an Independent record label, established in Edinburgh Scotland by Bob Last in December 1977. It was produced by the Gang and the Fast Product honchos Bob Last and Tim Inman. It was a #1 indie chart hit and John Peel radio show favourite. Indie rock is genre of Alternative rock that primarily exists in the independent Underground music scene John Robert Parker Ravenscroft, OBE (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004 known professionally as John Peel, was an English Disc jockey, radio This led to two outstanding Peel radio sessions, which, with their incendiary live performances, propelled the band to international attention and sold-out shows across Europe and North America. They were then signed by EMI records. The EMI Group is a British music company comprising the major record company EMI Music – which operates several labels and is based in Kensington in The group's debut single with this label, "At Home He's a Tourist", charted in 1979. Invited to appear on top rated BBC music program Top of the Pops, the band walked off the show when the BBC told them that they must sing "packets" instead of "rubbers" as per the lyrics of the song, as the original was too subversive for this TV slot. Top of the Pops, also known as TOTP, was a long-running British music chart Television programme, made and broadcast The single was then banned by BBC Radio and TV, which lost the band support at EMI, who began to push another band, Duran Duran, instead. Duran Duran are an English Pop rock band famous for a long series of popular singles, albums and vivid Music videos for which they've won two A later single, "I Love a Man in Uniform", was banned by the BBC during the Falklands war in 1982. The Falklands War (Guerra de las Malvinas/Guerra del Atlántico Sur also called the Falklands Conflict/Crisis, was fought in 1982 between Argentina and the

Critic Stewart Mason has called "Love Like Anthrax" not only the group's "most notorious song" but also "one of the most unique and interesting songs of its time". [1] 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 music a drone is a harmonic or monophonic effect or Accompaniment where a note or chord is continuously sounded throughout much Audio Feedback (also known as the Larsen effect after the Danish scientist Søren Larsen who first discovered its principles is a special kind of Feedback A rhythm section is the Musicians in a Popular music band or ensemble who establish the Rhythmic pulse of a Song or musical In one stereo channel, King sings a "post-punk anti-love song",[2] 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. A love song is about falling in love and the happiness it brings Beetles are the group of Insects with the largest number of known Species. Love is any of a number of Emotions and experiences related to a sense of strong Affection. Anthrax is an acute Disease in humans and animals caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis which is highly lethal in some forms " Meanwhile, in the other stereo channel (and slightly less prominent in the mix), Gill reads a deadpan monograph about public perception of love and the prevalence of love songs in popular music: "Love crops up quite a lot as something to sing about, 'cause most groups make most of their songs about falling in love, or how happy they are to be in love, and you occasionally wonder why these groups do sing about it all the time. Deadpan is a form of non-comedic delivery in which Humour is presented without a change in emotion or Facial expression, usually speaking in A monograph ( Classical Greek, "One Writer" or "Single Writing") is a work of writing upon a single subject usually also by a single Popular music is Music belonging to any of a number of musical styles that are accessible to the general public and are disseminated by one or more " The simultaneous vocals are rather disorienting, especially when Gill pauses in his examination of love songs to echo a few of King's sung lines.

According to critic Paul Morley, "The Gang spliced the ferocious precision of Dr. Paul Morley (born 26 March 1957 in Stockport, Cheshire) is an English journalist who wrote for the Feelgood's working-class blues with the testing avant-garde intrigue of Henry Cow. Henry Cow were an English Avant-garde rock group, founded at Cambridge University in 1968 by multi-instrumentalists Fred Wilfully avoiding structural obviousness, melodic prettiness and harmonic corniness, the Gang's music was studded with awkward holes and sharp corners. "

In 1981 the band released their second LP, "Solid Gold". Like Entertainment! the album was uncompromising, spare, and analytical; such songs as "Cheeseburger," "He'd Send in the Army," and "In the Ditch" exposed the paradoxes of warfare, work, and leisure. Van Goss, in a Village Voice review said: "Gang of Four embody a new category in pop, which illuminates all the others, because the motor of their aesthetic is not a 'personal creative vision. '

A troubled American tour saw the departure of Allen (who later co-founded Shriekback, Low Pop Suicide and The Elastic Purejoy); he was replaced briefly by Busta "Cherry" Jones, a sometime player with Parliament and Talking Heads. Shriekback is a Rock band formed in the early 1980s by Barry Andrews, formerly of XTC and League of Gentlemen (keyboards/synthesizers/vocals He left to work with the Rolling Stones and was replaced by Sara Lee, who was Robert Fripp's bassist in "The League Of Gentlemen". Sara Lee is an English Bassist and singer-songwriter best known for replacing Dave Allen on bass guitar in Post-punk band Gang of Four. Lee was as good a singer as bassist, and she helped give the band's third studio album ,"Songs of the Free", a more accessible quality. Although "I Love a Man in Uniform" from the album was the band's most radio-friendly song, it was banned in the UK shortly after its release because Britain was at war in the Falklands Islands. Lee later joined The B-52's. The B-52's originated as a New Wave Rock band formed in Athens Georgia, United States, in 1976 A year later Burnham left the band after the release of Songs of the Free. Songs of the Free is the third studio album by Gang of Four. In 1996 Infinite Zero Archive/ American Recordings label issued it on CD, with

1986 saw the release of The Peel Sessions Album, a collection of rawly rendered material recorded from 1971 to 1981 for British radio. Melody Maker dubbed the album "a perfect and classic nostalgia trip into the world of gaunt cynicism. "

Like the Velvet Underground before them, the influence of Gang of Four on later musicians is far greater than their original record sales might suggest. This article is about the band For their self-titled album see The Velvet Underground (album; for the book see The Velvet Underground (book Their angular, slashing attack and liberal use of dissonance had a significant influence on their post-punk contemporaries in the States. Post-punk was a popular musical movement in the mid to late 1970s following on the heels of the initial Punk rock explosion of the early 1970s Gang of Four went on to influence a number of successful funk-tinged alternative rock acts throughout the 80s and 90s, although few of their followers were as arty or political. Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers has stated that Gang of Four were the single most important influence on his band's early music. Michael Peter Balzary (born October 16 1962 more commonly known by the Stage name Flea, is an Australian-born American Bassist, Trumpet player Red Hot Chili Peppers are [3] Andy Kellman, writing in Allmusic, has even argued that Gang of Four's "germs of influence" can be found in many rap metal groups "not in touch with their ancestry enough to realize it". allmusic (previously All Music Guide) is a Metadata database about music owned by All Media Guide. Rap rock is a fusion genre of rock and hip-hop. It blends vocal and instrumental parts of hip-hop and various forms of rock including punk and rock [4] While many musicians have been inspired by the band's groundbreaking punk-funk musical style, they have rarely emulated the Situationist-inspired socio-political observations in Jon King's lyrics.

Recently the band has enjoyed a resurgence in popularity, initially due to emergence of new post-punk-influenced bands such as The Rapture, Liars and Radio 4, and then the rise of Franz Ferdinand and Bloc Party, which led to the renewed patronage of the NME. The Rapture is a prophesied event in Christian eschatology, in which Christians will be gathered together at the return of Christ; even Christians who have died Liars is a four-piece American band consisting of Australian-born Angus Andrew (vocals/guitar Aaron Hemphill (percussion guitar synth Evan Shewchuk (maracas/xylophone and Julian Radio 4 is a band from Brooklyn who formed in 1999 They claim that their sound which has been described as " danceable punk," is "made in New Franz Ferdinand is a rock band that formed in Glasgow, Scotland in 2001 Bloc Party are a British Indie rock band composed of Kele Okereke on vocals and Rhythm guitar, Russell Lissack on The New Musical Express (better known as the NME) is a Popular music Magazine in the United Kingdom which has been The original Burnham/Allen/Gill/King lineup reformed in November 2004. In October 2005, Gang of Four released a new disc featuring new recordings of songs from the albums Entertainment!, Solid Gold and Songs of the Free entitled Return the Gift, along with an album's worth of remixes. Entertainment! is the 1979 debut album by English Post-punk band Gang of Four. Solid Gold, released in 1981 is the second full album by the British Post-punk band Gang of Four.

Gang of Four plan to release a new album this year; it will be their first new material in over fifteen years. [5] However, this material will not feature the original rhythm section - on May 6, 2008, Dave Allen announced via his blog that he and Burnham had left the band. They are pursuing other interests and unable to focus solely on Gang of Four. [6]

Discography

Studio Albums

Compilations

EPs

Singles

Year Title Chart positions Album
US Modern Rock Billboard Club Play UK Singles Chart
1978 "Damaged Goods" - - - -
1979 "At Home He's A Tourist" - - 58 Entertainment!
1979 "Damaged Goods"/"I Found That Essence Rare" - 39 - Entertainment!
1981 "What We All Want" - 30 - Solid Gold
1982 "To Hell With Poverty!" - 38 - Another Day/Another Dollar
1982 "I Love A Man In Uniform" - 27 65 Songs of the Free
1983 "Is it Love?" - 9 88 Hard
1990 "To Hell With Poverty!" - - 100 A Brief History of the Twentieth Century
1991 "Don't Fix What Ain't Broke" 14 - - Mall
1991 "Satellite" - - - Mall

Music samples

References

  1. ^ Their influence on RHCP is confirmed by Flea on the liner notes to the re-release of Entertainment. Their influence on REM is confirmed by Michael Stipe on the liner notes to Gyrate Plus. Their influence on U2 has not been confirmed by the Edge, although a critical listening of War is pretty suggestive.
  2. ^ see the notes for A Brief History of the 20th Century
  3. ^ Entertainment liner notes.
  4. ^ Review of Entertainment!. allmusicguide.
  5. ^ http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003705760
  6. ^ Allen and Burnham Exit Gang of Four

External links

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