In evolutionary terms, a timescale of 25 years tends to elapse before a band’s musical legacy is evaluated and accorded its place in history.
Gang of Four – one of the most literate, challenging and innovative propositions of the post-punk second wave – never quite achieved anything more than medium-sized fame during a prolific seven-year stint (1977-1984), but time’s been kind to them. Astonishingly but appropriately, in the last couple of years G4 have finally become fashionable, the hip name to drop, namechecked in reverential tones by a host of the brightest stars in today’s galaxy.
Guitarist Andy Gill (credited as a personal inspiration by Flea, The Edge and Graham Coxon) is as surprised as anybody else: “It did come out of the blue. Though I think we deserve it. What really surprises me is the way it seems as if the entire music world has gone back to referencing the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, and in particular Gang Of Four. I wouldn’t have seen it coming.
“A lot of bands who’ve become huge – Bloc Party, Franz Ferdinand, Kaiser Chiefs – specifically refer to us. Even more so than The Fall, or Joy Division, or XTC, who all get mentioned quite a bit. It’s been said that we were undervalued, but I was happy enough with the attention at the time.”
Maybe it’s just journalistic nostalgia, but doesn’t the fact that all this stuff is now being revisited and embraced indicate that it was a very fertile time?
“I think so,” Gill nods. “Of course it’s difficult to be objective ‘cos I was in my early twenties which is a bit of a golden age in everyone’s lives, but having said that, there’s no doubt that it was a special time, everything was up for grabs. That proggy-rock hegemony had dominated most of the ‘70s. Punk cleansed everything and it became so much more vibrant and exciting – ideologically, politically, in terms of the noises that were being made, experimental noise-rock, reggae influence reaching into white punk.”
Back then, most leading bands were outspokenly political, and people seemed to feel it important to nail their colours to the mast – none more so than the ferociously leftist Gang.
“It was a politicised time – with Thatcher newly elected, everyone had to take a stance. You couldn’t be neutral. Some of the band were students at Leeds Uni, and there were incidents where far-right activists would come onto the campus at night trying to pick fights. They’d come into our pub and you’d have bottles flying, people getting smashed up. They were a huge threat.”