Gang Of Four is an English group formed in 1976 in Leeds and originally composed of Jon King, Andy Gill, Dave Allen and Hugo Burnham.
Group which released their first single "Damaged goods" in 1978, single which will be a great success. Thus allowing the group to start getting serious about it and especially to sign with the EMI label.
The real take off took place a year later in 1979 when arrives their first album "Entertainment !", album with certain success and which will produce their first two classified singles namely "At home he’s a tourist" and " I found that essence rare".
New album "Solid gold" two years later in 1981, album with less success and which, out of 3 singles released, will only be successful with only one, namely "What we all want".
The album "Song of the free" which came out in 1982 will not do much better and the only single which will succeed in doing so, namely "I love a man in a uniform", will be the subject strong criticism and banned from broadcasting after England entered the war in what would be called the "Falklands War".
The year 1983 saw the release of the album "Hard", an album that saw the group drop in a worrying way to say the least in the Charts. Album which will be saved at the last minute by the single “Is it love ?". A dropout that will see the group disappear from radar for nearly 8 years ...
We find them in 1991 with the release of a new album called "Mall". Unfortunately nothing will change the situation and will produce their last major single with the title "Don’t fix what ain’t broke".
Other albums will be released later, but the band will now only be extras ...
To discover or rediscover.
Discography (among others ...) :
At home he’s a tourist 1979
Damaged goods 1979
I found that essence rare 1979
What we all want 1981
To hell with poverty ! 1981
I love a man in uniform 1982
Is it love ? 1983
Silver lining 1983
I will be a good boy 1984
Money talks 1990
Don’t fix what ain’t broke 1991
Satellite 1991
Tattoo 1995
Second life 2008
You'll never pay for the farm 2011
Who am I ? 2011
I can't forget your lonely face 2011
Paper thin 2019
Toreador Minotaur 2019
Change the locks 2019
Clips :
1979 ... after a first title released the previous year and remained without a future, the group here obtains its first classified title. Certainly, only in England but it's always better than nothing as they say !
1979 ... the famous title released in 1978 and passed completely unnoticed comes out in 1979 and will experience a much more favorable fate. You just had to be patient ...
1979 ... a year 1979 which allowed them to make themselves known on both sides of the Atlantic. A most encouraging career start !
1981 ... surprisingly, the year 1980 will not allow the group to confirm all the good that one could think of them. We will therefore have to wait for 1981 to see them come back more or less in the race ...
1981 ... no one is a prophet in his country, the proof with this year 1981. Fortunately, success is there in the USA because across the Channel, it is total nothingness. Go figure ...
1982 ... we will have to wait for this title to see the group obtain his second title classified in the English Charts. Unfortunately limited recognition which sees the group somewhat stagnating on the standings side ...
1983 ... then THIS title comes ! The title of consecration which finally allows them to access the court of the Great after several unsuccessful attempts. They sign here the biggest success of their career and at the same time offer themselves a direct ticket for posterity. MAS-TER-FUL !
1983 ... the 2 extremes. This title will not even be classified without demerit, far from it. Hard law of the trade ...
1984 ... after a year 1983 which will have consecrated them, the rest will prove to be much less favorable concerning them. With the key to a pure and simple disappearance of the Charts ...
1990 ... six years will elapse between this title and the previous title. Six years that will not have benefited the group because the result in the Charts will not be much more brilliant ...
1991 ... with this title they will get a last 'little' hit. A group which had the potential to do great things in the long term but which did not know how to exploit it as he should. Frankly shame ...
1991 ... a year 1991 which saw them come back in force in terms of the number of singles produced. Unfortunately, the gap with the competition has become such that they will never catch up with the leading pack unfortunately ...
1995 ... new 4 years air gap and return in this year 1995 in a certain form. With a title that is not without interest but which will go completely under the radar. When it doesn't want anymore, it doesn't want anymore ...
2008...we thought the case was over for good and here they are again 13 years later. A return to say the least unexpected, to say the least...
2011...so unexpected that it will go unnoticed to say the least. They took too long to try to come back and the delay on the competition is now impossible to catch up...
2011... too bad because what they are now offering is not devoid of interest, far from it. Basic fans will be delighted with this unexpected return, but there will be only them...
2011... suddenly, the group will do more some figuration on this one than anything else. Afterwards, if they enjoy doing what they do, isn't that the main thing...
2015... they take pleasure in doing what they do since they come back 4 years later with this new opus. The group will have really had 2 distinct careers : that of the 80s and that of today...
2015...it would have been, to say the least, counterproductive to propose the same thing today as 30 years ago. If we come back so much to adapt...
2015...they adapted but that wasn't enough to bring them back into the race. They fail to capture the younger generations and this penalizes them to the highest degree...
2019...whether there is success or not, they don't care. As long as they have things to offer, they will come back again and again...
2019...and my faith, given what they continue to offer, they are right to move forward at all costs. Because we know, in music, everything can evolve very quickly, for bad or for good...
2019...by dint of perseverance, it may well be that at some point they manage to produce THE title that brings them back to the front of the stage. That's all we can wish them anyway...
Wiki :
Official Website :
Greatest Hits :
Discography :