(Oct. 08) in 1979: influential Leeds, UK post-punk band Gang Of Four (singer Jon King, guitarist Andy Gill, bassist Dave Allen & drummer Hugo Burnham) released their ground breaking debut album, ‘Entertainment!’, on EMI (UK)/Warner Bros. (US) it featured the tight, sparse playing & driving rhythms that made such tracks as “Natural’s Not In It”, “I Found That Essense Rare”, “At Home He’s A Tourist” & previous single “Damaged Goods” live favourites; it reached UK #45 & Australia #39 on the album charts; Pitchfork Media ranked ‘Entertainment!’as the #8 best album of the 1970s; Rolling Stone ranked it #483 on their list of ‘The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time’…(This photo: back cover of my copy of ‘Entertainment!’,signed by bassist Dave Allen,who later went on to form Shriekback…)
Gang of Four are considered innovators of the “dance-punk” genre, for adding dance elements and a bit of funk to their brand of punk, or post-punk as it’s sometimes called. Whatever designation best seen fit to try and box Gang of Four in to. Many current well-known musicians consider Gang of Four an influence, including Flea from Red Hot Chili Peppers. Their first two albums are excellent all the way through.
Most Popular Songs: “Damaged Goods,” “Ether,” “Natural’s Not In It”
Essential Albums: “Entertainment!” (1979), “Solid Gold” (1981)
This was the first single ever released by Gang on Four back in 1979 on the Fast Product Label. Three tracks appeared which were the now legendary ‘Damaged Goods’ on the A-Side, and ‘Love Like Anthrax’ (in a colder, more robotic version) and ‘Armalite Rifle’. All of these tracks would appear later on the ‘Mutant Pop’ compilation by the same label in 1980. The versions appearing on this EP are unavailable elsewhere.
The Fat Angel Sings 