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.
Anthrax
Gang of Four Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
What I've been saying won't say them again
My head's not empty, it's full with my brain
The thoughts I'm thinking
Like piss down a drain
And I feel like a beetle on its back
And there's no way for me to get up
And that's something I don't want to catch
Ought to control what I do to my mind
Nothing in there but sunshades for the blind
Only yesterday I said to myself
The things I'm doing are not good
For my health
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
You occasionally wonder why these groups do sing about it all the time
It's because these groups think there's something very special about it
Either that or else it's because everybody else sings about it and always has
You know to burst into song you have to be inspired
And nothing inspires quite like love
These groups and singers think that they appeal to everyone
By singing about love because apparently everyone has or can love
Or so they would have you believe anyway
But these groups seem to go along with what, the belief
That love is deep in everyone's personality
I don't think we're saying there's anything wrong with love
We just don't think that what goes on between two people
Should be shrouded with mystery
Love'll get you like a case of anthrax
And that's something I don't want to catch
Love'll get you like a case of anthrax
And that's something I don't want to catch
The first stanza of Gang of Four's song "Anthrax" depicts the singer waking up in the morning with desperation and a mind full of thoughts that resemble the waste of a bodily function. The singer acknowledges that the thoughts are not worth repeating and suggestfully emptying himself from such thoughts. The second line further explains the situation by saying that his head is not empty but full with his brain, which may symbolize that his anxious thoughts are all-consuming and overwhelming.
The chorus compares love to anthrax, a deadly and contagious disease. The singer feels like a beetle on its back, helpless to escape from the grasp of love. The singer claims that he does not want to catch it, highlighting his fear and aversion to the emotional vulnerability that comes with love. The lyrics suggest that the singer has a negative impression of love and its impact on a person's life. The third stanza ridicules love and the obsession that many music groups and singers have on the topic. The lyrics point out that music groups think that love is special and that it is a topic that everyone can relate to. Still, they fail to see that there is nothing special about it and that the mystery surrounding the topic only adds to the unrealistic expectations of it. The final chorus reaffirms the singer's opinion of love as something that he does not want to catch.
Line by Line Meaning
Woke up this morning desperation a.m.
I woke up feeling desperate this morning and didn't know what to do.
What I've been saying won't say them again
The thoughts I've had previously will not be said again.
My head's not empty, it's full with my brain
My mind is active and not empty.
The thoughts I'm thinking, Like piss down a drain
The thoughts I'm having feel meaningless and void, like urine flowing down a drain.
And I feel like a beetle on its back, And there's no way for me to get up
I feel stuck and helpless, like a beetle flipped over on its back.
Love'll get you like a case of anthrax, And that's something I don't want to catch
Love can be dangerous and destructive like a deadly disease, and I want to avoid it.
Ought to control what I do to my mind, Nothing in there but sunshades for the blind
I need to be more mindful of what I consume mentally, as my mind feels empty with no substance or clarity.
Only yesterday I said to myself, The things I'm doing are not good for my health
I recently realized that my actions are harmful to my well-being.
Love crops up quite a lot as something to sing about, 'Cause most groups make most of their songs about falling in love
Many musical groups write songs about love, as it is a common topic and theme.
You occasionally wonder why these groups do sing about it all the time, It's because these groups think there's something very special about it
Sometimes I question why so many groups write about love, and it's because they consider it a significant and profound experience.
Either that or else it's because everybody else sings about it and always has
Alternatively, it could be that so many artists write about love merely because it's always been a popular topic.
But these groups seem to go along with what, the belief That love is deep in everyone's personality
These groups may align with the idea that love is a profound part of human nature.
I don't think we're saying there's anything wrong with love, We just don't think that what goes on between two people Should be shrouded with mystery
I don't believe that there's anything inherently wrong with love, but I don't think that romantic relationships should be treated with such secrecy and mystique.
Love'll get you like a case of anthrax, And that's something I don't want to catch
Love can be dangerous and destructive like a deadly disease, and I want to avoid it.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: David Geoffrey Allen, Hugo Hamilton Mark Burnham, Andrew James Dalrymple Gill, Kenneth George King
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Tommaso Guarducci
Woke up this morning desperation A.M.
What I've been saying, won't say them again
My heads not empty, it's full with my brain
The thoughts I'm thinking like piss down a drain
And I feel like a beetle on its back
And there's no way for me to get up
Love'll get you like a case of Anthrax
And that's something I don't want to catch
Ought to control what I do to my mind
Nothing in there but sunshades for the blind
Only yesterday I said to myself
The things I'm doing aren't good for my health
And I feel like a beetle on its back
And there's no way for me to get up
Love'll get you like a case of Anthrax
And that's something I don't want to catch
Love'll get you like a case of Anthrax
And that's something I don't want to catch
Love'll get you like a case of Anthrax
And that's something I don't want to catch
MrPublicPain
I am 56. This is my favorite song ever. Being a life long Punk means something
Marshall Amdur
I'm 64. Couldn't agree more!
bitchykins
Damn right
VincentRE79
This was not a traditional Punk song, more Post-Punk
Catalast
yes, yes, yes & post punk ? Black Flag @ Barrington Hall Berk. CA> app 1979 Anthrax was played till the DJ got his recorrd smashed. Great warm up 4 Heuy.... & they rocked
Andrea West
RIP Andy Gill. You were one of a kind, as evidenced by the guitar work on this song.
Russell Solomon
To me, this song sounds like the hustle and bustle of a big city- the screeching discordant guitar wailing like a subway car pulling into the station. The dual vocals going simultaneously sound like a guy singing while a radio or TV blares babble at full volume in the background creating a cacophony all on top of the steady chugging of the chunky, repetitive bass riff paired with driving drums. The overall tone of the song is that of the frantic lifestyle of living in the stressful modern world and charges on until the very end of the song. Brilliant!
Shruggz Da Str8-Faced Clown
Another song with a similar verse-chorus lyrical delivery is the more-recent duet between P.J. Harvey and Thom Yorke on the former's "This Mess We're In" where the lyric structure is at points has them saying different lines on top of and around each other while echoing each other at other points.
exeuroweenie
I remember playing this in the cassette deck when my mom was trying out a Peugeot 505 she'd just bought.During the guitar into she said"oh Jesus Christ,not transmission trouble already".
CL
Great story! Thank you for the laughs!