Gang of Four (band)
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Gang of Four are an English post-punk group from Leeds. 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 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. 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. Their debut album, Entertainment!, ranked at #490 in Rolling Stone's The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. David Fricke in Rolling Stone 1980
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Discography
Studio albums
- Entertainment! (EMI, 1979) – UK Number 45, Australia Number 39
- Solid Gold (Warner Bros., 1981) – UK Number 52, US Pop Number 190
- Songs of the Free (Warner Bros., 1982) – UK Number 61, US Pop Number 175
- Hard (Warner Bros., 1983) – US Pop Number 168
- Mall (Polydor, 1991)
- Shrinkwrapped (Castle, 1995)
- Return the Gift (2005), V2 – re-recordings of earlier tracks
- Content (Yep Roc, 2011)
Live albums
- At the Palace (Mercury, 1984)
Compilation albums
- The Peel Sessions (1990), Strange Fruit/Dutch East India
- You Catch Up With History (1978–1983) (1990), Greenlight-Capitol
- A Brief History of the Twentieth Century (1990), Warner Bros
- 100 Flowers Bloom (1998), Rhino
Extended plays
- Yellow (EMI, 1980) – US Pop Number 201
- Another Day/Another Dollar (Warner Bros., 1982) – US Pop Number 195
- The Peel Sessions (16.1.79) (1986), Strange Fruit
Singles
| Year | Title | Chart positions | Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Modern Rock | US Hot Dance Club Play | UK Singles Chart | |||
| 1978 | "Damaged Goods" | – | – | – | – |
| 1979 | "At Home He's a Tourist" | – | – | 58 | Entertainment! |
| "Damaged Goods"/"I Found That Essence Rare" | – | 39 | – | ||
| 1980 | "Outside the Trains Don't Run on Time" | – | – | – | Solid Gold |
| 1981 | "What We All Want" | – | 30 | – | |
| "Cheeseburger" | – | – | – | ||
| "To Hell With Poverty!" | – | 38 | – | Another Day/Another Dollar | |
| 1982 | "I Love A Man In Uniform" | – | – | 65 | Songs of the Free |
| "I Love A Man In Uniform" (US release) | – | 27 | – | ||
| "Call Me Up" | – | – | – | ||
| 1983 | "Is it Love?" | – | – | 88 | Hard |
| "Is it Love?" (US release) | – | 9 | – | ||
| "Silver Lining" | – | – | – | ||
| 1984 | "I Will Be a Good Boy (live)" | – | – | – | At the Palace |
| 1990 | "Money Talks" | – | – | – | Mall |
| 1991 | "To Hell With Poverty!" | – | – | 100 | A Brief History of the Twentieth Century |
| "Don't Fix What Ain't Broke" | 14 | – | – | Mall | |
| "Satellite" | – | – | – | ||
| "Cadillac" | – | – | – | ||
| 1995 | "Tattoo" | – | – | – | Shrinkwrapped |
| 2008 | "Second Life" | – | – | – | – |
| 2011 | "You'll Never Pay for the Farm" | – | – | – | Content |
