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.
History
Gang of Four Lyrics
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Not the styles of strategic combat
We could lose our bent we hear about
They weren't the ones to get it in the neck
Fighting it out for some other's causes
They're invisible they didn't exist!
History's bunk our government
In the future will they make more junk?
Fighting it out for some other's causes
They're invisible they didn't exist!
There are no lessons in the past x6
The lyrics to Gang of Four's "History's Bunk!" are a commentary on the selective and biased nature of history as taught and understood by governments and mainstream society. The singer desires to hear the history of marginalized groups, specifically the "desert people," over the glorified tales of war and conquest taught in schools. The song critiques the tendency for governments to manipulate and distort history to serve their own agendas, noting that the true victims and heroes of history are often overlooked and considered insignificant.
The line "They weren't the ones to get it in the neck" suggests that the people who suffered the most during historical conflicts were not necessarily the ones responsible for initiating or perpetuating them. The phrase "fighting it out for some other's causes" also implies that wars and conflicts are often fought for reasons beyond the understanding or benefit of those doing the fighting.
The repetition of the phrase "there are no lessons in the past" reinforces the idea that history is often used to justify present-day policies and actions, but these lessons are often distorted or incomplete. Overall, the song's message is a call for a more honest and inclusive approach to history that acknowledges the experiences and perspectives of all people, not just those in power.
Line by Line Meaning
What I'd like to hear desert people's history
I'm curious about the history of desert people and their way of life.
Not the styles of strategic combat
I don't want to hear about military tactics and strategies.
We could lose our bent we hear about
We might become biased if we only hear one side of the story.
They weren't the ones to get it in the neck
Those people didn't suffer the consequences or the blame.
Fighting it out for some other's causes
They fought for the interests of others, not their own.
They're invisible they didn't exist!
Their contributions went unrecognized and ignored.
History's bunk our government
Our government's version of history is unreliable and biased.
In the future will they make more junk?
Will future generations have to deal with more propaganda and distorted history?
What I'd like to hear tales of people's history
I want to hear stories about ordinary people and their experiences.
Fighting it out for some other's causes
They fought for the interests of others, not their own.
They're invisible they didn't exist!
Their contributions went unrecognized and ignored.
There are no lessons in the past x6
History cannot provide us with definitive and universally applicable lessons.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: ANDREW GILL, JON KING
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind