8/3/06: Gang of Four: Entertainment! (1979)

The original line-up of Gang of Four announced their reunion tour in 2004, and Pitchfork Media got it typically wrong. “Was Gang of Four,” they pondered, “not thee most anti-capitalist band on the planet?” Right there was good reason for that reunion. The band’s post-punk reputation had been pretty much ruined by unthinking rock critics.

Rolling Stone, for example, will also assure you that Entertainment!—the band’s 1979 debut LP—was the work of Marxists. That’s why I specifically requested drummer Hugo Burnham for an interview when the band played Manhattan. Having thrived as both slick pop musician and record executive, Burnham was the true face of Go4’s business instincts.

He’d earned that success, too. Burnham was replaced by a drum machine after songwriters Andy Gill and Jon King turned the band into a glossy soul act for 1983's Hard. He was happy to discuss Go4’s alleged anti-capitalism:

People think we had a political bent, but that couldn’t have been further from the truth. I wouldn’t call any of us Republicans—then or now—but it’s not about the Left or Right when you deal with issues of personal relationships, and the way individuals fit into society. People who fall through the cracks need support from a communal government, but people have to take responsibility for their actions.

You can hear plenty about personal responsibility on Entertainment! The band practically demanded it from their listeners. The Clash shouted empty slogans, but Gang of Four sought a discussion. Entertainment! spoke to this Young Republican with its moralistic attitude toward finance, fashion, and—well, funk. That was a welcome element back in ’79.

(Gang of Four actually had many punk/funk contemporaries, but nearly all were useless both musically and politically.)

Entertainment! also features songs that are notably conservative on the romantic front. Politics is personal, the Left is all about feelings, and that’s a sucker’s game. The spoken word running under “Anthrax” ends with, “We just don’t think that what goes on between two people should be shrouded with mystery.” Use that line the next time you need to break up with a hippie. It’ll curdle her (or his) patchouli.

We’re still in the midst of hot young bands fashioning their own shards of sound from Gang of Four’s influence. You can find magazines where these musicians pose in outfits that cost hundreds—and sometimes thousands—of dollars. Both bassist Dave Allen and Burnham are really bummed that nobody’s used any Go4 songs in a television commercial. Get the word out to your local copywriter. Burnham would like to afford one of those suits.

Make it your own: The Rhino label did a fine job with a 2005 reissue—although the lyrics leave out the muttered “Anthrax” manifesto. That glossy soul album is also pretty great, but it might be discussed some other time.

 

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