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.
Ether )
Gang of Four Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
New looking out for pleasure (H-block torture)
It's at the end of the rainbow (White noise in)
The happy ever after (A white room)
Dirt behind the daydream
Dirt behind the daydream
The happy ever after
Dig at the root of the problem (Fly the flag on foreign soil)
It breaks your new dreams daily (H-block Long Kesh)
Fathers contradictions (Censor six counties news)
And breaks your new dreams daily (Each day more deaths)
Dirt behind the daydream
Dirt behind the daydream
The happy ever after
Is at the end of the rainbow
White noise in a white room
White noise in a white room
White noise in a white room
White noise in a white room
Trapped in heaven life style (Locked in Long Kesh)
New looking out for pleasure (H-block torture)
It's at the end of the rainbow (White noise in)
The happy ever after (A white room)
Dirt behind the daydream
Dirt behind the daydream
The happy ever after
Is at the end of the rainbow
Dig at the root of the problem (Fly the flag on foreign soil)
It breaks your new dreams daily (H-block Long Kesh)
Fathers contradictions (Censor six counties news)
And breaks your new dreams daily (Each day more deaths)
Dirt behind the daydream
Dirt behind the daydream
The happy ever after
Is at the end of the rainbow
There may be oil
(Now looking out for pleasure)
Under Rockall
(It's at the end of the rainbow)
There may be oil
(The happy ever after)
Under Rockall
(It's corked up with the ether)
There may be oil
(It's corked up with the ether)
Under Rockall
(It's corked up with the ether)
There may be oil
The lyrics to Gang of Four's "Ether" are dense with political and social commentary about societal constructs that "trap" people and create "dirt" behind our "daydreams" of happiness. The opening lines allude to the incarceration and torture of political prisoners in Northern Ireland, with "Trapped in heaven lifestyle" referring to the supposed religious motivation behind the violence, and "New looking out for pleasure" referring to the prisoners seeking pleasure in any way they can despite their confinement. The lines "It's at the end of the rainbow/The happy ever after" sarcastically repackage the idea of a happy ending as something that people can achieve through their suffering, ignoring the systemic problems that result in such suffering.
Line by Line Meaning
Trapped in heaven life style (Locked in Long Kesh)
Being stuck in a comfortable but confined environment, similar to being imprisoned in Long Kesh
New looking out for pleasure (H-block torture)
Seeking enjoyment while enduring torment and suffering, such as that experienced in H-block torture
It's at the end of the rainbow (White noise in)
The ultimate goal or happiness is always out of reach, represented by the white noise in a room
The happy ever after (A white room)
The idealized ending or resolution achieved through simplicity and purity, depicted as a white room
Dirt behind the daydream
Despite hopeful and optimistic dreams, there is still underlying despair and hardship
Dig at the root of the problem (Fly the flag on foreign soil)
Addressing the fundamental causes of an issue, even if it means taking bold or controversial actions, like flying a flag on foreign soil
It breaks your new dreams daily (H-block Long Kesh)
Every day brings new challenges and obstacles that destroy one's hopeful aspirations, similar to the struggles faced in H-block Long Kesh
Fathers contradictions (Censor six counties news)
The conflicting thoughts and actions of authority figures create confusion and hinder progress, exemplified by censorship of six counties news
Each day more deaths
The increasing number of fatalities adds to the already bleak and hopeless reality
There may be oil
An uncertain possibility of a valuable resource being present
Under Rockall
A specific location where the possible resource could be found
It's corked up with the ether
The oil is inaccessible or impractical due to being trapped or preserved with the substance ether
Lyrics © BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC , Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: ANDREW GILL, DAVID ALLEN, HUGO BURNHAM, JONATHAN KING
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Nukeler Nicky
Trapped in heaven life style (Locked in Long Kesh)
You're looking out for pleasure (H-block torture)
It's at the end of the rainbow (White noise in)
The happy ever after (A white room)
Dirt behind the daydream
Dirt behind the daydream
The happy ever after
It's at the end of the rainbow
Dig at the root of the problem (Fly the flag on foreign soil)
It breaks your new dreams daily (H-block Long Kesh)
Father's contradictions (Censor six counties' news)
And breaks your new dreams daily (Each day more deaths)
Dirt behind the daydream
Dirt behind the daydream
The happy ever after
It's at the end of the rainbow
White noise in a white room
White noise in a white room
White noise in a white room
White noise in a white room
Trapped in heaven life style (Locked in Long Kesh)
Your looking out for pleasure (H-block torture)
It's at the end of the rainbow (White noise in)
The happy ever after (A white room)
Dirt behind the daydream
Dirt behind the daydream
The happy ever after
It's at the end of the rainbow
Dig at the root of the problem (Fly the flag on foreign soil)
It breaks your new dreams daily (H-block Long Kesh)
Father's contradictions (Censor six counties' news)
And breaks your new dreams daily (Each day more deaths)
Dirt behind the daydream
Dirt behind the daydream
The happy ever after
It's at the end of the rainbow
You're looking out for pleasure (Under Rockall)
It's at the end of the rainbow (There may be oil)
The happy ever after (under Rockall)
It's corked up with the ether (There may be oil)
It's corked up with the ether (under Rockall)
It's corked up with the ether (There may be oil)
Craig Klotz
It's been 40 years, nothing like this has ever been duplicated or exceeded.
DIGGER THE GROUNDHOG
The only band, anything like them, was Fugazi but nowhere near as talented.
trex672
Ridiculously great album. Should be required listening by anyone ever starting a guitar band. Top 5 rock album of all time. No joke.
Dennet Oyanguren
Fact.
Cam B
Bold
vambo13257
trex672 maybe top 3000
Misanthropic Duckling
@vambo13257 *top 3
Along with Red Lorry Yellow Lorry and Joy Division.
Jose Torres
@vambo13257 "490" in the 500 Best Albums of all history.
This is a Masterpiece!
Jacob Samano
This album is so ahead of its time. As a guitar player I freaking love the guitar rhythms/tone. The bass as well is so groovy and splendid. Holding it all together like Eric Avery’s underrated bass lines on Jane’s Addiction’s first 3 albums.
TheGenreman
One of the greatest opening tracks of an album