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.
Everybody Wants To Come
Gang of Four Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
There's bodies at the side of the road
Everybody wants to come
This is what is turning us all on
I'm alive, I'm not dead
I like to watch, it's better than getting head
Listen up, to hear the guns
Sex charged barrels, pump action
Everybody wants to come
This is what is turning us all on
Turn the page, to see the face
The vacant eyes are staring into space
Don't need no one, I got the proof
For me to win someone else must lose
Everybody wants to come
This is what is turning us all on
The sirens fade, the traffic speeds
I am free, I'm a lover, I am real
The song "Everybody Wants to Come" by Gang of Four touches on themes of sexuality, voyeurism, and detachment. The opening lines, "We're not moving, we're going slow / There's bodies at the side of the road", suggest a detached observation of the world around us. The mention of "bodies" implies death, yet the singer remains passive, unfazed by the death around them.
The chorus of the song, "Everybody wants to come / This is what is turning us all on", seems to refer to a desire for sexual release, which is further explored in the subsequent lines. The line "I'm alive, I'm not dead / I like to watch, it's better than getting head" suggests a preference for voyeurism over active participation in sexual encounters.
The following lines, "Listen up, to hear the guns / Sex charged barrels, pump action", create a juxtaposition between sexual and violent imagery. The intermingling of these themes creates a sense of danger and heightened arousal.
The final lines of the song, "The sirens fade, the traffic speeds / I am free, I'm a lover, I am real", suggest a release from the detached observation of the earlier verses. The singer now feels "free" and "real", having experienced the rush of sexual and violent images.
Overall, "Everybody Wants to Come" paints a picture of a society that is both fascinated by and detached from sexuality and violence.
Line by Line Meaning
We're not moving, we're going slow
We're not making progress, we're taking our time
There's bodies at the side of the road
We're surrounded by violence and death
Everybody wants to come
Sexual gratification is what drives people
This is what is turning us all on
Sexual desire is what motivates us
I'm alive, I'm not dead
I'm enjoying life, I'm not unhappy
I like to watch, it's better than getting head
I prefer watching others have sex rather than participating
Listen up, to hear the guns
Be alert to the sound of violence
Sex charged barrels, pump action
Weapons and sex are intertwined in our culture
Turn the page, to see the face
Look at the reality of our society
The vacant eyes are staring into space
People are disconnected from reality and numb to the violence
Don't need no one, I got the proof
I don't need validation from others, I have the evidence to prove myself
For me to win someone else must lose
Success requires trampling over others
The sirens fade, the traffic speeds
The noise of violence slowly disappears, people continue their lives
I am free, I'm a lover, I am real
I feel liberated and genuine through my sexuality
Lyrics © CARLIN AMERICA INC
Written by: ANDY GIL, JON KING
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind