Editing Gang of Four (band) (section)

=== 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]]."