When someone writes a song about love, comparing it to anthrax is not usually the first connection one makes. But that’s exactly what Gang Of Four do. They make the odd connections that no one else does, revolutionising the punk template by fusing white rock, funk, noise, and lyrics that drip with sarcasm, wit, and severe brilliance.
It’s been 35 years since Gang Of Four shook up the system with their debut Entertainment!, a melting pot of social critique, strong funk rhythms, and acerbic guitar blasts strongly rooted in neo-Marxism and avant-garde techniques.
The album has been hugely influential to many bands, including Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and, closer to home, the socialist punk-funk Leeds band, Delta 5.
“I think when we set about Entertainment!…I was trying to figure out in my own mind about how music was going to develop and what it was I was knitting,” founding guitarist Andy Gill said, bemused by his own metaphor.
If Gang Of Four were knitted, they would use the most remarkable variety of wool available, just from Gill’s influences alone.
“As I was growing up, the music I’d been into had been a lot of white rock music, noise music like The Velvet Underground…but also stuff which comes from a black music tradition like reggae, which was a huge influence, and American funk with James Brown,” he said.
“It seemed like there was a musical apartheid and they had to be in their own box. It was almost like, well, let’s throw everything out the window and start from scratch and build a new kind of musical language.”
Gang Of Four blended the brew and started peppering it with themes of commodification, proletarian movements, alienation, the media angles and, of course, a twisted way at looking at love and sex.
“Jon and I were also working on a new type of musical subject matters, which were completely not what everyone else was singing about,” the guitarist said.
“Some people didn’t like it at all, which is always a good thing”“Some people didn’t like it at all, which is always a good thing. You kind of want a strong reaction and some people thought it was the greatest thing.”
Since their formation in 1977, Gang Of Four have gone through various incarnations. Currently Gill is the only remaining member in the group while longtime singer-songwriter Jon King takes an open-ended sabbatical from the band. However, Gill found a welcome addition in the form of John ‘Gaoler’ Sterry.
“My management sent someone along to help me sketch out some of the vocal ideas. That was Gaoler. I thought, ‘God, he’s good.’ He’s really got this. Weirdly, it occupies a very similar range to Jon King’s voice. It cracks in a nice way at certain frequencies.”
Gaoler has been a welcome addition to the band since 2011 and was crucial to the development of Gang Of Four’s upcoming new album.
“The new record that we’re doing, that we’re bringing out in June, there [will be] various guest singers…Gaoler singing on about half of it,” the musician hinted before continuing, “It’s been really exciting. I feel musically we are stepping up a gear.”
With Gang Of Four’s name taken from Chinese communist politicians, it is of no great surprise that one of the band’s biggest followings is in China – although, this is also rather surprising.
“It’s so interesting that Gang Of Four had such a huge influence in China. It’s ironic. They just love Gang of Four.”
It’s a wonder that the band name did not raise alarm bells when touring the country, but it seems the connection was lost on Chinese audiences – at least initially.
“It was always referred to in English…so the connections weren’t instantaneously obvious,” explained Gill.
“When you go to China, you had to go through the censor; you had to give them your lyrics and recordings,” he said, and with a tinge of pride in his voice, “and we passed!”
When one thinks of China, one does think of communism and, to a larger extent, the influence of Marxism, something Gang Of Four have always been keen to fuse into their music and their business deals. With much of their output being a critique on capitalist constructs, it was a big surprise when they signed to major label EMI in 1979.
“At the time it was just too fantastic an irony to miss, when we were offered [the deal] by EMI.”
“It’s so interesting that Gang Of Four had such a huge influence in China. It’s ironic”However, it was almost the complete opposite experience as one could expect from a major label. Rather than being confined to executives’ directions, they had more freedom than ever.
“Of course the interesting and odd thing is, certainly in our experience, is you got absolute freedom on the major and working as a producer. With independent labels, they are much more involved with what bands do and don’t do. [But] obviously the entire industry has transformed since we joined.”
Content, the last album the band released, was a crowdfunded effort. Gill seemed positive about the democratic way musicians are handling their art, but he still is concerned about the feasibility of creating a living out of releasing records.
“It’s difficult for most people to release records, to make the music industry financially make sense for them. The basic fact of the matter is, when there is so much file sharing, you don’t have to be Einstein to figure out how that’s going to be problem,” he said.
“I think people are trying to be inventive about the way they get their music out there.”
The four-piece hope to release material before they head to Australia in March, but they still haven’t decided exactly how they are going to construct their anniversary show.
“We haven’t actually decided yet. I’m very tempted to mix up Entertainment! with the other stuff. There are a couple of tracks from Entertainment! that we never play, even when we are doing an Entertainment! show,” he said.
The British guitarist may not have the setlist sorted, but he has got a couple of interesting ideas lighting-wise.
“I’ve been working a lot on the live thing, and we’ve got a great new lighting person with projections,” Gill explained.
“Our stage thing was quite shocking-new when we first arrived, a lot of white light…and the colours we had were very odd. It was a very dramatic stark look, and we kind of carry that on. There are projections involved as well. It’s not in obvious ways.”
Gang Of Four will be back with a vengeance in March, with a new album planned for release in June.
Gang Of Four Australian Tour 2014
Wednesday 19th March – Corner Hotel, Melbourne
Tickets: www.cornerhotel.com.au
Thursday 20th March – Metro Theatre, Sydney
Tickets: www.ticketek.com.au
Saturday 22nd March – The HiFi, Brisbane
Tickets: www.oztix.com.au
Sunday 23rd March – Capital, Perth
Tickets: www.oztix.com.au
