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.
In The Ditch
Gang of Four Lyrics
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Run past the windows and close the door
Whatever you do stay calm
Show me a ditch and I'll dive it
I'll feel safe beyond the cares of the world
Good news is prospect
Excluding the six feet under
Marshall music the beat goes on
Get down down to the floor
Marshall music the beat goes on
Get down down to the floor
Get down down to the floor
Under the table with the radio on
Whatever you do stay calm
The cupboard is stocked, the door is locked
I'll feel safe beyond the cares of the world
Good news is prospect
Excluding the six feet under
Marshall music the beat goes on
Get down down to the floor
Marshall music the beat goes on
Get down down to the floor
Show me a ditch and I'll dive in it [Repeat: x4]
I'll dive in it [Repeat: x4]
Heads down, down to the floor
Run past the windows and close the door
Whatever you do stay calm
Show me a ditch and I'll dive it
I'll feel safe beyond the cares of the world
Good news is prospect
Excluding the six feet under
Marshall music the beat goes on
Get down down to the floor
Marshall music the beat goes on
Get down down to the floor
I'll dive in it [Repeat: x4]
The lyrics to Gang of Four's "In The Ditch" create a picture of someone seeking refuge from an unknown danger. The repeated refrain of "show me a ditch and I'll dive in it" suggests a desire to escape from the outside world, to find safety and security in isolation. The urgency of the opening lines—"Heads down, down to the floor / Run past the windows and close the door / Whatever you do stay calm"—adds to the sense of imminent danger.
The references to "Marshall music" and the beat going on suggest a sense of chaos and disorder in the outside world, perhaps linked to political unrest or social upheaval. The idea of "excluding the six feet under" suggests a hopeful outlook, a sense that there is a prospect of a better future, even if it means shutting oneself off from the world for a time.
Overall, "In The Ditch" seems to be a commentary on the need for escape, for finding respite from the pressures and uncertainties of modern life. The repeated motif of the ditch becomes a metaphor for the need to retreat, to create a space of safety and calm amidst the chaos of the world.
Line by Line Meaning
Heads down, down to the floor
Lower your head and crouch down until you reach the floor
Run past the windows and close the door
Quickly pass by the windows and shut the door behind you
Whatever you do stay calm
Remain composed no matter the situation
Show me a ditch and I'll dive it
Present me with a hiding place and I'll jump into it with eagerness
I'll feel safe beyond the cares of the world
I'll feel secure and protected from the world's troubles
Good news is prospect, Excluding the six feet under
There is a possibility for good news, as long as we avoid death
Marshall music the beat goes on, Get down down to the floor
The military's music signifies danger, so we must hide by getting down on the floor
Under the table with the radio on
Hiding beneath the table with the radio turned on
The cupboard is stocked, the door is locked
The cupboard is full of supplies, and the door is securely shut
Show me a ditch and I'll dive it
Present me with a hiding place and I'll jump into it with eagerness
I'll dive in it [Repeat: x4]
I'll readily dive into the hiding place presented to me
Marshall music the beat goes on, Get down down to the floor
The military's music signifies danger, so we must hide by getting down on the floor
Heads down, down to the floor
Lower your head and crouch down until you reach the floor
Run past the windows and close the door
Quickly pass by the windows and shut the door behind you
I'll dive in it [Repeat: x4]
I'll readily dive into the hiding place presented to me
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: DAVID ALLEN, HUGO BURNHAM, ANDREW GILL, JONATHAN KING
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind