Gang of Four was formed in Leeds in 1976 by bassist Dave Allen, drummer Hugo Burnham,
guitarist Andy Gill, and singer Jon King. The band pioneered a style of music that inverted
punk’s blunt and explosive energies — favoring tense rhythms, percussive guitars, and lyrics
that traded in Marxist theory and situationism. They put every element of the traditional “rock
band” format to question, from notions of harmony and rhythm to presentation and performance.

This original lineup of the band released two monumental albums, Entertainment! (1979) and
Solid Gold (1981). A third, Songs of the Free (1982), was recorded with bassist Sara Lee
replacing Dave Allen. After Songs Of The Free, Burnham departed the band and Andy Gill and
Jon King continued on to release Hard in 1983. After this release, the band broke up. In 2004,
the original quartet reformed for tour dates and released Return The Gift (2005).

Gill’s untimely death in February 2020 was cause for many to once again re-examine the
group’s catalog and the legacy of these early releases was widely cited. Not only did Gang of
Four’s music speak to the generation of musicians, activists, writers, and visual artists that
emerged in the group’s immediate wake, but the generation after that. And the generation after
that, even.

In the last few years, their songs have continued to resonate with and been sampled by artists
far afield from “post-punk,” including Run the Jewels (“The Ground Below”) and Frank Ocean
(“Futura Free”). Now forty years since the original release of Entertainment!, Gang of Four’s
legacy cannot be overstated.