The group had a single in the British Top 60 with "At Home He's A Tourist" in 1979, which was blacklisted by Top Of The Pops for its use of the relatively innocuous term "rubbers". Storming, Doc Marten-booted and fueled by a heady cocktail of Gramsci, Marx and lager, out of the Leeds art-school scene that produced The Mekons and Delta 5, they played a stripped-to-the-wire, funk-fueled permutation of punk rock. This is best exemplified by the dry production and forceful polemic of debut effort Entertainment! - Gang of Four's later albums (Songs Of The Free and Hard) found them softening some of their more jarring qualities, and drifting towards disco.
Critic Stewart Mason has called "Love Like Anthrax" (their first single, later re-recorded as "Anthrax") not only the group's "most notorious song" but also "one of the most unique and interesting songs of its time"; it's also a good example of Gang of Four's social perspective. After a minute-long, droning, 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", 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 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." The simultaneous vocals are more than a little disorienting, especially when Gill pauses in his examination of love songs to echo a few of King's sung lines.
Allen left after Solid Gold and was replaced briefly by Buster Jones (who never recorded with the group), then by Sara Lee; Allen later co-founded Shriekback, Low Pop Suicide and The Elastic Purejoy.
Their angular, slashing attack and liberal use of dissonance had a significant influence on their post-punk contemporaries in the States, including Mission Of Burma. Gang Of Four went on to influence a number of successful funk-tinged alternative rock acts throughout the 80s and 90s - even, arguably, many rap-rock and nu metal groups who were "not in touch with their ancestry enough to realize it" (Andy Kellman, on allmusic.com) - although few of their followers were as arty or political. Michael "Flea" Balzary of Red Hot Chili Peppers has stated Gang of Four were very influential on his band's early music.
Gang of Four can also be credited as one of the early influences on techno or electronic music; they released dance remixes of several later singles.
Recently the band has enjoyed a resurgence in popularity, initially due to emergence of new post-punk influenced bands such as The Rapture and Radio 4 and then the rise of Franz Ferdinand and Bloc Party, which led to the renewed patronage of the NME. The original Burnham/Allen/Gill/King lineup reformed in November 2004. In October of 2005, Gang of Four released a new LP featuring new recordings of past songs, entitled Return The Gift.
Dave Allen also co-hosts a twice-weekly "New Music Hour" radio show with Portland, Oregon's 94.7 alternative radio station.
Andy Gill died on 1st February, 2020 from, according to reports, a respiratory illness caught on the group's tour in Asia the preceding year. He was the only original member still playing in the Gang Of Four.
A Hole in the Wallet
Gang of Four Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Women to know that they are equal
Why work for love if it shows no profit
You'll only earn emotional losses
Wasting time a hole in the wallet
There is only one condition
Better not (you'll only earn emotional losses)
Disrupt their passions
Mirror reflect their teaching
Make up makes up for your nature
Make up makes up for your nature
You're for seeing and not for hearing
Their commands are in your interest
Why work for love if it shows no profit
You'll only earn emotional losses
Wasting times a hole in the wallet
Their commands are your interest
There is only one condition
You're for seeing and for the taking
Why work for love if it shows no profit
You'll only earn emotional losses
Wasting times a hole in the wallet
Better not (you'll only earn emotional losses)
Disrupt their passions
Education is their business
Women to know that they are equal
There is only one condition
Stay in bed or in the kitchen
In the lyrics of Gang of Four's song A Hole in the Wallet, the group is addressing the idea of education being a business, specifically when it comes to men's view of women. Women are told that they are equal, but they are also expected to stay in the home and not disrupt men's passions. The line "Why work for love if it shows no profit/You'll only earn emotional losses/Wasting time a hole in the wallet" could possibly be referencing the idea that if women are expected to be housewives, they won't receive any sort of financial benefit from doing so and will only suffer emotionally, which is akin to wasting money.
The next stanza continues this idea with the lines "Mirror reflect their teaching/Make up makes up for your nature." The mirror is an emblem of societal pressure to conform to certain beauty standards, and makeup is being suggested as a way to "make up" for not being able to change one's nature. The final stanza continues to drive home the point that women are only there for men to take, and there is only one condition: stay in the home. Essentially, the song is a commentary on the patriarchal society in which women are expected to be subservient to men and how this is a sort of trap that only leads to emotional despair.
Line by Line Meaning
Education is their business
Their main motivation revolves around manipulating women by making them believe their teachings.
Women to know that they are equal
The Gang of Four wants women to believe they are given equal rights but still aren't capable enough to handle the corporate world or anything apart from household chores.
Why work for love if it shows no profit
They believe that women shouldn't make rash decisions like working for love if it won't bring them any financial gains.
You'll only earn emotional losses
Working for anything apart from profit will lead to loss of emotions and result in an unwise decision.
Wasting time a hole in the wallet
According to their principles, time shouldn't be spent on useless activities and doing so would only lead to financial loss.
There is only one condition
The only rule is that women must only work where men want them to, which is either in the bed or in the kitchen.
Stay in bed or in the kitchen
Women should restrict themselves to their 'appropriate' duties, which include household chores and being available to fulfil the sexual desires of men.
Better not (you'll only earn emotional losses)
Taking a stand against this 'condition' will lead to emotional loss and negative consequences.
Disrupt their passions
Women are advised to not engage in activities that may result in them losing their sexual appeal or in any way disturb their typical way of doing things.
Mirror reflect their teaching
Women should follow whatever is being taught to them and blindly trust their teachings without question.
Make up makes up for your nature
Women are expected to put on makeup to hide their flaws as it makes them more acceptable and therefore, more valuable in the eyes of men.
You're for seeing and not for hearing
According to them, women are just a mere object to look at and should stay silent and not question the teachings of men.
Their commands are in your interest
The Gang of Four believes that following their commands is in the best interest of women as it is meant to safeguard them from the harsh reality of the world.
You're for seeing and for the taking
Women are meant to be seen and treated as objects to be taken without any regard to their own desires or needs.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: ANDY GILL, JON KING
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Tony Saladino
Fab! The4 G'o4 was stiletto sharp, wise beyond their years and the pulse of many a young life. Mine was one. Still living the messages behind the poetry. The definition of a true classic takes a generation or two to be proved out, but the second the stylus touched vinyl, I knew...these folks held meaning for the ages.
BunnymanVids
I've had this album for over 30 years but I really only got into this song a few years ago.
electrocute1979
music doesn't change with time, but we do.
jackal59
In 1980, I took my copy of Solid Gold to a "bring your own music" night at a gay dance club. Everybody hated it except for the DJ, who picked this song and told me afterward that he thought it was great.
Nathan Mattor
Haha, I've had similar experiences. Now I describe the album as "Guaranteed to clear the room of all normal people!!"
Sometimescloudy
Dang u a old fart
KEEP CALM and PLAY SOCCER IN YOUR PAJAMAS
Brilliant.
Brian Wolle
brilliant. of course!
ottart08
haven't we all earned those emotional losses, being a male I just get to leave the bedroom and kitchen...at times... thanks for posting this...
mudgetheexpendable
RIP Andy Gill