Editing Gang of Four (band) (section)

==History==
=== Early years and ''Entertainment!'' (1976–1979) ===
The band initially consisted of vocalist [[Jon King]], guitarist [[Andy Gill]], drummer [[Hugo Burnham]] and bass guitarist Dave Wolfson.<ref name="lester25">{{Cite book|last=Lester|first=Paul|title=Gang of Four: Damaged Gods|publisher=[[Omnibus Press]]|year=2008|pages=25–26|isbn=978-1-84772-245-4}}</ref> After two or three gigs,<ref name="lester25"/> Wolfson was replaced by [[Dave Allen (English musician)|Dave Allen]].<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://repeaterbooks.com/product/red-set-a-history-of-gang-of-four/|title=Red Set: A History of Gang of Four |website=Repeaterbooks.com|access-date=11 September 2020}}</ref>

Gang of Four's music brought together an eclectic array of influences, ranging from the [[Frankfurt School]] of social criticism to the increasingly clear trans-Atlantic [[punk rock|punk]] consensus.{{citation needed|date=September 2017}} Gang of Four was named by Andy Corrigan, a member of [[the Mekons]], while driving around with Gill and King when he came upon a newspaper billboard on the intra-[[Communist Party of China|Party]] [[coup d'état|coup]] against China's "[[Gang of Four]]".<ref name="auto"/>

The band's debut single, "[[Damaged Goods (song)|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. It was a Number 1 [[indie rock|indie]] chart hit<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.superplayer.fm/gang-of-four| title=Gang of Four – Superplayer, músicas para ouvir | access-date=4 November 2016 | website=Superplayer.fm |language=es}}</ref> and [[John Peel]] radio show favourite. "Damaged Goods" was voted one of the 100 Greatest debut singles of all time in 2020's Rolling Stone Poll<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/greatest-debut-songs-singles-990470/|title=The 100 Greatest Debut Singles of All Time|first1=Rob |last1=Sheffield |first2=et|last2=al|website=Rollingstone.com|date=19 May 2020|access-date=11 September 2020}}</ref>  Two 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. 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 original line 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 a Uniform", was banned by the BBC during the [[Falklands War]] in 1982.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/5R152hTbVPQdYjn29q5jt4/16-songs-banned-by-the-bbc|title=16 songs banned by the BBC|access-date=4 November 2016|publisher=BBC Four}}</ref>

Critic Stewart Mason has called "Anthrax" not only the group's "most notorious song" but also "one of the most unique and interesting songs of its time".<ref name="allmusic-Anthrax">{{cite web |url={{AllMusic|class=song|id=t778569|pure_url=yes}} |title=Anthrax |access-date=26 August 2008 |last=Mason |first=Stewart |format=DLL |website=[[AllMusic]]}}</ref> It's also a good example of Gang of Four's social perspective: after a minute-long, [[drone (music)|droning]], [[audio feedback|feedback]]-laced guitar intro, the [[rhythm section]] sets up a funky, churning beat, and the guitar drops out entirely. In one stereo channel, King sings a "post-punk anti-love song",<ref name="allmusic-Anthrax" /> 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." Meanwhile, in the other stereo channel (and slightly less prominent in the mix), Gill reads (on the original EP version) a detailed account of the technical resources used on the song, which on the re-recorded album version is replaced by a [[deadpan]] [[monologue]] 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." Although the two sets of lyrics tell independent stories they occasionally synchronise for emphasis.

According to critic [[Paul Morley]], "The Gang spliced the ferocious precision of [[Dr. Feelgood (band)|Dr. Feelgood]]'s working-class blues with the testing avant-garde intrigue of [[Henry Cow]]. Wilfully avoiding structural obviousness, melodic prettiness and harmonic corniness, the Gang's music was studded with awkward holes and sharp corners."<ref>"The Jam, Gang of Four: Music Machine, London" Paul Morley, New Musical Express, 6 January 1979</ref> At the time, the band was recognised to be doing something very different from other white guitar acts. Ken Tucker, in ''[[Rolling Stone]]'', 1980, wrote: "...rarely have the radical edges of black and white music come closer to overlapping... the Gang of Four utilize their bass guitar every bit as prominently and starkly as the curt bass figures that prod the spoken verses in <!-- don't correct parens to square brackets, it breaks the link coding -->([[Kurtis Blow]]'s "culture defining" huge summer hit) "[[The Breaks (song)|The Breaks]]."

=== Later years (1980–1983) ===
In 1981, the band released their second LP, ''[[Solid Gold (album)|Solid Gold]]''. Like ''[[Entertainment!]]'', the album was uncompromising, spare, and analytical. King's lyrics in such songs as "Cheeseburger", "He'd Send in the Army" and "In the Ditch" exposed the paradoxes of warfare, work and leisure. Van Gosse, in a ''[[The Village Voice|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.'"

Dave Allen (who later co-founded [[Shriekback]], [[King Swamp]], [[Low Pop Suicide]] and [[the Elastic Purejoy]]) had left in 1981, and had been briefly replaced by [[Busta Jones|Busta "Cherry" Jones]], a sometime player with [[Parliament (band)|Parliament]], [[Brian Eno]] and [[Talking Heads]]. After working with Gang of Four to complete their North American tour obligations, Jones left and was replaced by [[Sara Lee (musician)|Sara Lee]], who was [[Robert Fripp]]'s bassist in [[the League of Gentlemen (band)|the League of Gentlemen]]. Lee was as good a singer as bassist, and she helped give the band's third studio album, ''[[Songs of the Free]]'', a more commercially accessible element. Although "I Love a Man in a Uniform" from the album was the band's most radio-friendly song, it was banned in the UK shortly after its release because Britain went to war in the Falkland Islands. In the spring of 1983, Burnham left the band after the release of ''Songs of the Free'' and formed [[Illustrated Man (band)|Illustrated Man]]. Gill and King continued Gang of Four, releasing ''[[Hard (Gang of Four album)|Hard]]'' in 1983.

After that, the band broke up, and Lee moved to the United States where she has worked with a number of artists, including [[The B-52's]], [[Ryuichi Sakamoto]], and [[Ani DiFranco]].

1986 saw the release of ''The Peel Sessions'', a collection of rawly rendered material recorded during the period 1979 to 1981 for British radio BBC. [[Melody Maker]] dubbed the album "a perfect and classic nostalgia trip into the world of gaunt cynicism."

=== Gill and King reunion (1987–1997) ===
Gill and King reunited to record ''[[Mall (album)|Mall]]'' in 1991, and finally ''[[Shrinkwrapped (album)|Shrinkwrapped]]'' in 1995. ''Mall'' featured [[Gail Ann Dorsey]], later famous for her longtime association with [[David Bowie]], on bass.

=== Changing line-ups (2004–2012) ===
[[File:Go4_16.jpg|thumb|Gang of Four at Heaven, London in 2011]]
The original lineup of Jon King, Andy Gill, Dave Allen and Hugo Burnham reformed in November 2004. A UK tour in January 2005, shows in Europe and Japan and tours of the United States in May/June and again in September cemented their fierce live reputation. 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'' titled ''Return the Gift'', accompanied by an album's worth of remixes. The album featured [[Mark Heaney]] on drums.

In January 2011, the band, now featuring Mark Heaney on drums who replaced Burnham in 2006, and Thomas McNeice on bass, released a new album, ''[[Content (Gang of Four album)|Content]]'', which was called "their best record since the Seventies".<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/cdreviews/8274881/Gang-of-Four-Content-CD-review.html | location=London | newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph]] | first=Andrew | last=Perry | title=Gang of Four: Content, CD review | date=21 January 2011}}</ref> [[Jon Pareles]], in a ''[[The New York Times|New York Times]]'' 4-star review, declared that [the band] "have reclaimed, with a vengeance, their old attack".<ref>{{cite news| title= Critics' Choice: New CDs| url=http://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/2011/01/25/arts/music/25choice.html | newspaper=[[The New York Times]] | first1=Ben | last1=Ratliff | first2=Nate | last2=Chinen | first3=Jon | last3=Pareles | date=24 Jan 2011}}</ref>
Following successful tours of the US, Australia and Europe in 2011, King and Gill disagreed about the band's direction and ceased working together.

=== Final line-up with Gill (2012–2020) ===
[[File:Andy Gill and John "Gaoler" Sterry, Gang of Four.jpeg|thumb|Gang of Four in 2014: Andy Gill (left) and John Sterry]]
Gill, against the wishes of King, continued to tour and record under the Gang of Four name. With new lead vocalist John Sterry, as well as a returning McNiece, the band released ''What Happens Next'' in 2015, ''Complicit'' in 2018, and ''Happy Now'' in 2019, which featured a range of guest artists. XSNoise said "The album [Happy Now] is as intense as any ever released on their discography."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.xsnoize.com/album-review-gang-of-four-happy-now/ |title=ALBUM REVIEW: Gang of Four - Happy Now &#124; XS Noize &#124; Online Music Magazine |website=Xsnoize.com |date=13 March 2019 |access-date=2020-05-25}}</ref>

Andy Gill died on 1 February 2020, and obituaries across the world hailed his legacy and impact. He was "one of the most influential musicians of the post-punk era, leading his band Gang of Four to huge acclaim with his intense, angular, staccato guitar work that blended rock with funk," said the ''Independent''.<ref>{{cite news|author=Garth Cartwright |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/andy-gill-death-gang-of-four-guitarist-post-punk-age-cause-music-a9316481.html |title=Andy Gill: Gang of Four founder whose jagged guitar sound spawned many imitators |newspaper=[[The Independent]] |date=2020-02-07 |access-date=2020-05-25}}</ref> Gang of Four's "brusque, angular style would directly or indirectly influence post-punk and indie-rock bands like [[Red Hot Chili Peppers]] (who chose Mr. Gill to produce their debut album), [[The Jesus Lizard]], [[Nirvana (band)|Nirvana]], [[Rage Against the Machine]], [[Franz Ferdinand (band)|Franz Ferdinand]] and [[Protomartyr (band)|Protomartyr]]," said the ''New York Times'', adding: "[[Michael Hutchence]] of [[INXS]] once said that Gang of Four’s music 'took no prisoners,' adding, 'It was art meets the devil via [[James Brown]].'"<ref>{{cite web|author=Jon Pareles |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/01/arts/music/andy-gill-dead.html |title=Andy Gill, Radical Guitarist With Gang of Four, Dies at 64 - The New York Times |website=[[The New York Times]] |date=1956-01-01 |access-date=2020-05-25}}</ref> The NME wrote: "Great musicians encapsulate their age; the very best echo endlessly onwards, and Andy Gill...has been reverberating along the baseline of alternative culture for 40 years."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nme.com/blogs/andy-gill-obituary-1956-2020-gang-of-four-2604037|title=Andy Gill – the NME obituary, 1956-2020: The guitar hero who made radical politics danceable|website=Nme.com|date=1 February 2020}}</ref>
Two EPs, ''This Heaven Gives Me Migraine'', and ''Anti Hero'' were released after his death featuring some final studio recordings.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/gang-of-four-andy-gill-the-dying-rays-new-ep-952536/|title=Gang of Four Honor Andy Gill's Legacy With Reworked 'The Dying Rays' From New EP|date=14 February 2020|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|access-date=18 March 2020}}</ref> A tribute album, ''The Problem of Leisure: A Celebration of Andy Gill and Gang of Four'', was released in June 2021.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Shaffer |first1=Clare |title=Tom Morello, Idles, La Roux to Contribute to Gang of Four Compilation |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/gang-of-four-compilation-tom-morello-idles-la-roux-1114058/ |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=14 January 2021 |publisher=Penske Business Media, LLC |access-date=20 October 2021}}</ref>

===Reunion (2021–present)   ===
In October 2021, Gang of Four's social media accounts posted a photo featuring King, Burnham, Lee, and [[David Pajo]] of [[Slint]].<ref name="gang21">{{cite web|last=Pearis|first=Bill|title=Gang of Four teasing something, share picture ft Jon King, Hugo Burnham, Sara Lee, & David Pajo|url=https://www.brooklynvegan.com/gang-of-four-teasing-something-share-picture-ft-jon-king-hugo-burnham-sara-lee-david-pajo/|work=[[Brooklyn Vegan]]|date=October 17, 2021|access-date=October 18, 2021}}</ref> They later announced that this line-up would be touring in 2022 in support of the ''77-81'' box set.<ref>{{cite news|title=Three classic-era Gang Of Four members to reunite for 2022 North American tour|first=Matt|last=Owen|url=https://www.guitarworld.com/news/gang-of-four-tour|date=2021-10-18|publisher=[[Guitar World]]|accessdate=2021-10-18}}</ref> In 2022, the box-set 77-81 earned Jon King a Grammy Nomination.