Part 1
The band formed in Leeds in 1976. The original members were singer Jon King, guitarist Andy Gill, bass guitarist Dave Allen and drummer Hugo Burnham. They played a stripped-down mix of punk rock, funk and dub, with a lyrical emphasis on the social and political ills of society. The name Gang of Four was suggested by Andy Corrigan, a member of the Mekons, prompted by a newspaper billboard on the coup against China’s Gang of Four.
The band’s debut single, Damaged Goods backed with (Love Like) Anthrax and Armalite Rifle, was recorded in June 1978 and released on 10 December 1978, on Edinburgh’s Fast Product label. Their debut album, Entertainment!, was ranked by Rolling Stone as the fifth greatest punk album of all time. Two John Peel radio sessions followed, 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 group’s debut single with this label, At Home He’s a Tourist, charted in 1979. They were invited to appear on top rated BBC music program Top of the Pops, the band walked off the show when the BBC told them to sing “rubbish” in the place of the original lyric “rubbers”, as the word was considered too risqué. The single was then banned by BBC Radio and TV, which lost the band some support at EMI. King’s lyrics were always controversial and a later single, I Love a Man in Uniform, was banned by the BBC during the Falklands War in 1982.
Since the bands debut there have been many different line-ups including many notable musicians. 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; Gill toured using the name between 2012 and his untimely death in 2020. In 2021, the band announced that King, Burnham, and Sara Lee would be reuniting for a US tour in 2022. They continued to perform live, then in October 2023 they announced that their “Long Goodbye” tour in 2025 would be their last. Jon King has skillfully documented his early years growing up in an English post-war, working-class environment and he unravels the extraordinary story of Gang of Four with unabashed sincerity and a large dollop of English wit in To Hell With Poverty – A Class Act: Inside The Gang of Four.
Part 2
Andy Gill was the lead guitarist and co-founder of Gang of Four. He was noted for his distinctive rhythm guitar style and sound, emphasizing a treble-heavy attack likened by one critic to “metal splintering”. He favored tight linkage with drums and bass and unlike many guitarists he shunned the warmer sound of valve amplifiers in favor of the coldness and thinness of a Fender Stratocaster through transistor amps. In addition to his work with Gang of Four, Gill was also a producer and co-producer of all Gang of Fouralbums. He also procured albums for the Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Jesus lizard, Killing Joke, The Stranglers, Michael Hutchence and many more. Gill’s death was announced February 1, 2020. He was 64. The cause of death was listed as multiple organ failure and pneumonia. On May 14, 2020 following a hospital investigation Andy’s wife, Catherine Mayer announced he was an early victim of the COVID-19 pandemic, following a music tour of China in November, 2019.
Just as the news came in that Andy Gill had passed, Jon King agreed to share with us his memories of his longtime friend and bandmate, Jon sent a message that he had just become a grandfather. This was an emotional time for King as you’ll hear in our in our conversation.
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