Gang Of Four

Like its north-of-England contemporaries Mekons and The Fall, Gang Of Four was post-punk when punk was still new. Not long after The Ramones and Sex Pistols unleashed their sonic bombast, Gang Of Four played guitar “anti-solos” (also known as silence) and explored almost funky rhythm dynamics. After a solid four-album streak from 1979-1983—the unstoppable Entertainment!, followed by Solid Gold, Songs Of The Free, andHard—the band unraveled. Co-leaders Jon King and Andy Gill reunited the band in 2004 after seemingly every new group at the time started dropping its name as a reference point, but the band only recently released Content, Gang’s first album of new material since 1995’s Shrinkwrapped.

Updated 02/02/2011