Gang of Four are a British post-punk group from Leeds, England. Original pe… Read Full Bio ↴Gang of Four are a British post-punk group from Leeds, England. Original personnel were singer Jon King, guitarist Andy Gill, bass guitarist Dave Allen and drummer Hugo Burnham. They were fully active from 1977 to 1984, and then re-emerged twice in the 1990s with King and Gill. In 2005, the original lineup reunited.

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.

Don't Fix What Ain't Broke
Gang of Four Lyrics

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I want tomorrow today
I didn't think that I'd
Have yesterdays all week on someone else's time

Yeah, I like that car
Suppose the color's OK
Fibre glass and rust are filling in my day

I want to see the sunrise in the night time
I'm gonna fake, an alibi

[Chorus]
Don't fix what ain't broke
Don't fix what ain't broke
(Not now)
Don't fix what ain't broke
Don't fix what ain't broke
(Not now)

Repossess my heart
I gave it away
A loan is all
But nothing lasts forever these days

Got a stereo, 100 watts a side
Its matt black face is laughing at my life

I wanna see the starlight, in the day time
I'm gonna fake, an alibi

[Chorus]

I want to see the sunrise in the night time
I'm gonna fake, an alibi

[Chorus: x2]

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Gang of Four's "Don't Fix What Ain't Broke" express a desire for change and new experiences, juxtaposed with a sense of frustration and boredom with the current state of things. The singer longs for tomorrow today, implying a lack of patience and contentment with the present moment. They express a feeling of being stuck, living out repetitive days on someone else's time. The mention of a car and a stereo suggest a desire for material possessions or status symbols, but the singer recognizes their somewhat futile nature as they are made of "fibre glass and rust."

Several lines in the song stand out in their repetition, emphasizing the central message of the chorus: "Don't fix what ain't broke." This phrase can be interpreted in different ways, as a call to maintain what is working well in life or, conversely, as a warning against complacency and resisting change. The suggestion that the singer will "fake an alibi" to pursue their desires implies a willingness to deceive or break rules to achieve their goals.

Overall, the song seems to express a tension between the desire for change and the fear of the unknown, or a preference for the familiar even when it is unsatisfying. The repetition of the chorus reinforces the message, leaving listeners to decide whether to interpret it as a call to action or a warning against disruption.

Line by Line Meaning

I want tomorrow today
I desire to experience the future immediately

I didn't think that I'd
I never expected that I would

Have yesterdays all week on someone else's time
Going through days that feel similar to my past and not having control over my time

Yeah, I like that car
I am fond of that vehicle

Suppose the color's OK
The hue is passable

Fibre glass and rust are filling in my day
My day is occupied with the deterioration of the car due to fiberglass and rust

I want to see the sunrise in the night time
I yearn to witness the sunrise during nighttime hours

I'm gonna fake, an alibi
I will make up an excuse

Don't fix what ain't broke
It is unnecessary to repair something that is functioning optimally

(Not now)
The repair should not be attempted at this time

Don't fix what ain't broke
It is unnecessary to repair something that is functioning optimally