Gang of Four’s debut, the 1979 masterpiece “Entertainment,” remains one of the defining works of Britain’s legendary and influential post-punk movement.
The band was a flash in and out of the pan – releasing three smart, melodic, political, angular records in as many years – but it disbanded in 1982, leaving behind a legacy far larger than its actual output.
Throughout the ’80s and ’90s, groups would name-drop Gang of Four as an inspiration in the same sentence as Joy Division and The Fall. The band reacted by releasing spotty new material and touring in a lackluster, patched-together form. But as post-punk made a comeback in the past few years with Interpol leading the charge, Gang of Four reacted as it had before. Only this time it had everyone in tow: vocalist Jon King, guitarist Andy Gill, bassist Dave Allen and drummer Hugo Burnham.
“This is actually the only true reunion,” said King, who brings his seminal band to the Gothic Theatre on Saturday. “There were various incarnations of Gang of Four, but this is the first time that me, Dave, Hugo and Andy, the quintessential lineup, have been … together since the early ’80s.”
After touring Europe in 2004, Gang of Four played its first dates on American soil – where it was always most appreciated and successful – earlier this year, including a date at the Coachella Music Festival. Playing alongside the best of today’s indie rock – The Arcade Fire, M.I.A. and Bright Eyes included – plus throwback acts such as New Order and Bauhaus, Gang of Four presented festivalgoers with one of Coachella’s most memorable moments.
Well into his 40s, King put other frontmen to shame with his energy, confident presence and boundless passion for the music that made him almost famous. His performance was huge, and his three bandmates met his energy and upped him a couple of carefully toned decibels. King was Mick Jagger, only better. His rock is real, his voice is still there, and perhaps he’s benefited from all the time off.
“We play with a level of extreme intensity – it’s very physical and full-on loud – and it’s so incredibly draining and exhausting,” King said. “You have to be very physically fit to do the shows. What you don’t want to be is just a bunch of guys standing at the mics going through the motions. We wanted to be as intense and focused as we always were.
“And we also wanted make sure that the music still sounded great,” he said. “Gang of Four’s never been interested in making hit records or commercialism. All of our records were underground. We wanted to make life-changing music. And it’s the shows when that becomes really apparent. Last night in Carolina … it was a quarter of an hour before people stopped stomping and shouting and finally we played (a third encore).”
As with any reunion, Gang of Four is finding that its demographic has changed. Sure, its original fans are there, older and heavier, but its new fans are quite young – and singing along with the same fervency as the band’s original fan base.
“Most of the people at these shows are under 25,” King said. “Two-thirds of the audience is between 15-25, it seems. In Barcelona, 95 percent of the crowd was that young. And last night in North Carolina, the support band, Morningwood, asked if anyone had ever seen Gang of Four before and only three people in room of 1,000 said they had.”
King is honored at the turnout, and feels it’s the greatest compliment anybody could pay to his band and the music, some of which is approaching the three-decade mark.
“It says that the music still has its force and a contemporary quality,” King said. “So many great bands are influenced and inspired by Gang of Four, and some of them think we’re a contemporary band. And it works. A DJ not long ago mixed Gang of Four into Bloc Party and Franz Ferdinand, and it made sense.”
Pop music critic Ricardo Baca can be reached at 303-820-1394 or rbaca@denverpost.com.
Gang of Four
POST-PUNK|Gothic Theatre, 8 p.m. Saturday with Men, Women and Children and The Swayback|$16-$18|via ticketweb.com or TicketWeb outlets.
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GOSSIP Want the gossip on the Gossip? The fearless, blues-lovin’ indie rock troupe moved to Portland, Ore., and landed a new drummer named Hannah, also known as Strangela Handsbury from Shoplifting (a band that was on the Gossip’s label, Kill Rock Stars, no less). Word on the street: Brace lost a tooth and Beth lost a gall bladder, and both of those HURT! They play tonight at the Larimer Lounge.
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– Ricardo Baca
