GANG OF FOUR

Gang Of Four is one of the most radical, and radically important, rock groups of the last 30 years. With Andy Gill slashing away on guitar over the Dave Allen/Hugo Burnham rhythm section while Jon King declaimed over the top about love as disease or the torture of prisoners in Northern Ireland like a deranged demagogue.

More than anything, Gang Of Four are about visceral, high energy, maximum impact rock'n'roll. They make you dance and they make you sweat just as they make you think. That exclamation mark at the end of the title of their 1979 debut album Entertainment! incidentally, one of the greatest debut albums ever made; in fact, one of the greatest long-playing records, period was no accident or sleight of design. The music on that debut long-player was born out of a specific time in history, the result of a series of very specific circumstances and conditions social, economic, emotional, political, musical and yet it remains as true, as resonant, as relevant, as universally applicable three decades on as it was the day it was released.

Over the last two years, Gang Of Four has played some exhilarating live shows around the world that have been as visionary, relevant and exciting as ever. Their classic songs have connected with a new generation of fans, many of whom have discovered the band through finding the source that has inspired many of the best current guitar outfits. In 2005 Gang Of Four re-recorded a selection of their favourite tunes on "Return The Gift", featuring Mark Heaney on drums while Hugo Burnham left to focus on his successful academic career in the USA. In April 08 Dave Allen left to be replaced by Thomas McNiece.