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.
Sweet Jane
Gang of Four Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Suitcase in my hand
Jack is in his corset, Jane is in her vest
And me I'm in a rock 'n' roll band. Huh.
Ridin' in a Stutz Bearcat, Jim
Ya know, those were different times
All, all the poets studied rules of verse
And those ladies, they rolled their eyes
Sweet Jane, whoa-uh!
Sweet Jane, oh-ho-uh!
Sweet Jane
I'll tell ya sump'n' now
Jack, he is a banker
And Jane, she is a clerk
And both of them save their monies
When they get home from work
Oooh! Sittin' down by the fire, ohhh!
The radio does play
The classical music there, Jim
"The March of the Wooden Soldiers"
All you protest kids
You can hear Jack say
(Get ready ya'll)
Sweet Jane
(C'mon baby doll)
Sweet Jane oh-oh-oh-oh-uh!
Sweet Jane
Some people, they like to go out dancin'
And other peoples, they have to work, just watch me now
And there's even some evil mothers
Well they're gonna tell you that everything is just dirt
You know that, women never really feign
And that villains always blink their eyes, oooh!
And that, you know, children are the only ones who blush
And that life is just to die
But anyone who ever had a heart, ohh!
They wouldn't turn around and break it
And anyone who's ever played a part, ohh!
They wouldn't turn around and hate it
Sweet Jane, oh-whoa-uh!
Sweet Jane
Sweet Jane
[This next part is only on the full length version of the song:]
Heavenly wine and roses
Seem to whisper to her when he smiles
Heavenly wine and roses
Seem to whisper to her, hey when she smiles
La lala lala la, la lala lala la
La lala lala la, la lala lala la
Sweet Jane
Sweet Jane
Sweet Jane
Sweet Jane
Sweet Jane
The song "Sweet Jane" by Gang of Four is a cover version of the original song by The Velvet Underground. The lyrics describe different characters, including the singer who sings about his experience as a rock n' roll band member. The first stanza sets the scene on a street corner where the singer stands with his suitcase while Jack and Jane are described wearing unusual clothing. The second stanza goes on to explain that both Jack and Jane save up their money while working their day jobs as bankers and clerks. It is described that they later kick back and relax in front of the fire while listening to classical music on the radio.
The chorus of "Sweet Jane" features the singer addressing someone called Jane, calling her "sweet" and expressing his affection for her. The final stanza speaks about the opinions of "some people" who think that everything in life is just "dirt," and that only children are capable of blushing, while a person with a heart wouldn't dream of breaking it. It's a song about the different types of people and their perspectives on life.
Line by Line Meaning
Standin' on a corner
I am standing on a street corner.
Suitcase in my hand
I am holding a suitcase.
Jack is in his corset, Jane is in her vest
Jack is wearing a corset and Jane is wearing a vest.
And me I'm in a rock 'n' roll band. Huh.
I am a member of a rock band.
Ridin' in a Stutz Bearcat, Jim
I am driving a Stutz Bearcat car.
Ya know, those were different times
The times were different then.
All, all the poets studied rules of verse
All poets studied the rules of verse.
And those ladies, they rolled their eyes
The women would roll their eyes.
Sweet Jane, whoa-uh!
Sweet Jane is a great person.
Sweet Jane, oh-ho-uh!
Sweet Jane is amazing.
Sweet Jane
Sweet Jane is a wonderful person.
I'll tell ya sump'n' now
Let me tell you something.
Jack, he is a banker
Jack works as a banker.
And Jane, she is a clerk
Jane works as a clerk.
And both of them save their monies
They both save their money.
When they get home from work
After finishing work for the day.
Oooh! Sittin' down by the fire, ohhh!
Sitting near the fire.
The radio does play
The radio is playing music.
The classical music there, Jim
The classical music is playing.
"The March of the Wooden Soldiers"
This is the name of a song being played.
All you protest kids
All of you who are protesting.
You can hear Jack say
Jack is speaking.
(Get ready ya'll)
Get ready, everyone.
Sweet Jane
Sweet Jane is great.
(C'mon baby doll)
Come on, baby.
Sweet Jane oh-oh-oh-oh-uh!
Sweet Jane is awesome!
Some people, they like to go out dancin'
Some people like to go dancing.
And other peoples, they have to work, just watch me now
Others have to work, but watch me.
And there's even some evil mothers
There are even some bad mothers.
Well they're gonna tell you that everything is just dirt
They will tell you that everything is worthless.
You know that, women never really feign
Women never really pretend.
And that villains always blink their eyes, oooh!
Villains always blink their eyes.
And that, you know, children are the only ones who blush
Children are the only ones who blush.
And that life is just to die
Life is just to die.
But anyone who ever had a heart, ohh!
Anyone with a heart.
They wouldn't turn around and break it
Would not break someone's heart.
And anyone who's ever played a part, ohh!
Anyone who has played a role.
They wouldn't turn around and hate it
Would not hate the role they played.
Sweet Jane, oh-whoa-uh!
Sweet Jane is amazing!
Sweet Jane
Sweet Jane is the best!
Sweet Jane
Sweet Jane is wonderful.
Heavenly wine and roses
Wine and roses are wonderful.
Seem to whisper to her when he smiles
They whisper when he smiles.
Heavenly wine and roses
Wine and roses are great.
Seem to whisper to her, hey when she smiles
They whisper when she smiles.
La lala lala la, la lala lala la
Singing la la la la.
La lala lala la, la lala lala la
Still singing la la la la.
Sweet Jane
Sweet Jane is amazing!
Sweet Jane
Sweet Jane is great!
Sweet Jane
Sweet Jane is wonderful!
Sweet Jane
Sweet Jane is the best!
Sweet Jane
Sweet Jane is fantastic!
Contributed by Jordyn H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
soulminer 1970
Great cover.
rosacelabi
And it was NOT on the "That´s Entertainment" album.
MichaelHansenFUN
read Wikipedia and I was in a used record store recently and they were PLAYING this
Doctor Feelfunny
It's just "Entertainment". This is a live cover of the Velvet Underground song which, as Rik sez, is on the 2005 reissue. I like it. You can tell they're having fun.
Ricksville
It was on one of the reissues
MrCSRocker
I'm sure GoF was influenced by VU
Dangerous416
Of fuck. I uploaded this on my Hs account that I forgot the password to.... awkward
rosacelabi
Ah...