Gang Of Four

Released in October 1978 on the Scottish independent record label Fast Product, Damaged Goods was the first commercial release by Gang of Four, a three track 7-inch vinyl EP by founding members Andy Gill, Jon King, Hugo Burnham and Dave Allen. It was also, arguably, the first post-punk record: tinyurl.com In 2021, KEXP's Emily Fox sat down with author and activist Catherine Mayer, widow of Andy Gill of Gang of Four. Andy passed away in early 2020. Listen to the full interview here: tinyurl.com

Released in October 1978 on the Scottish independent record label Fast Product, Damaged Goods was the first commercial release by Gang of Four, a three track 7-inch vinyl EP by founding members Andy Gill, Jon King, Hugo Burnham and Dave Allen. It was also, arguably, the first post-punk record.: andygillmusic.com In 2021, KEXP's Emily Fox sat down with author and activist Catherine Mayer, widow of Andy Gill of Gang of Four. Andy passed away in early 2020. Listen to the full interview here: kexp.org

#578 This song was written about the torture of members of the IRA by the British during The Troubles. White noise torture was blasting hard rock through stereos at prisoners. Here are the lyrics: genius.com. www.gangoffour7781.com andygillmusic.com www.kexp.org

Make sure to check out one of KEXP’s new podcasts – The Cobain 50. Each week, the show dives into Kurt Cobain’s list of his top 50 albums – how they may have influenced him and Nirvana, and Kurt’s continuing impact today. In this newest episode, KEXP’s Roddy Nikpour dives into the 1979 album ‘Entertainment!’ by Gang of Four. www.kexp.org

Entertainment! is the debut album by English post-punk band Gang of Four, first released in 1979. Entertainment! has been recognized as a seminal post-punk album. It has also been described musically as dance-punk and art punk.

The band were invited onto the BBC show Top of the Pops to perform this song. However, when the show's producers heard the line, "And the rubbers you hide/ In your top pocket," they asked the foursome to substitute the word "rubbish" for "rubbers" to cater for their family audience. Aware that this rendered the line nonsensical, the Gang of Four refused, and they were never invited back. This reached #58 in the UK singles chart, the highest position of any Gang of Four song. tinyurl.com

Gang of Four guitarist Andy Gill passed in 2020. His spouse, author and activist Catherine Mayer, appeared on KEXP's Sound & Vision in 2020 to discuss his legacy. Enjoy the full segment here: kexp.org

This will be one of my votes for the "great opening tracks" list we're doing for the fall drive later this month!

In 2021, KEXP's Emily Fox sat down with author and activist Catherine Mayer, widow of Andy Gill of Gang of Four. Andy passed away in early 2020. Listen to the full interview here: kexp.org