Go4: even the PM should boast ‘em

Avoiding to habitually indugle in nostalgia, we have to admit that sometimes it is cathartic and exciting, it can display its healing power! It also could be a reminder of those rare moments when it made you proud to be… British! Well, things were very different some… oh, 26 years ago. Albion could still pompously wave its musical banner because, (wo)man, we was decades ahead and ruled the world’s airwaves. The Americans’ Independence Day was often ‘ruined’ by invading British acts. Such as one of the most intriguing, innovative and influential bands was formed in Leeds, back in 1977.

Now, speak its name with veneration - Gang Of Four. Now, at the time when new records are as rare as musical ideas and record bosses are too busy counting the takings of the pre-Chrimbo releases, we are granted a timely reissue of their compilation ‘A Brief History of The Twentieth Century’. Originally issued in 1990, in time for the band’s reformation, that covers the earliest period of their creativity, 1978 - 1984.

It all started with an independent three-tracker, ‘Damaged Goods’, that simply burned at the time when n-e-w really meant it. Revolutionary still held its original ideals and wasn’t used to designate a new fashion line. Also, anarchy still appeared a valuable alternative to the benign and safe-as-houses British way of life. The EP contained instant classics ‘Love Like Anthrax’ and ‘Armalite Rifle’ that combined energy fuelled alternative rock with political stand and rifled with staccato guitar that towered over powerful funky basis…

Few months later, EMI contracted, they fired ‘At Home He’s A Tourist’, a monster of a single that could only peak at #58 although it should have been 57 places higher! Alas, it got banned because the song contained word ‘rubbers’ [yeah, an argot for contraceptives]… Well, we told you - England was different back in March ‘79. Further six months passed before GoF - Andy Gill, former journo and guitarist (arrhythmic) extraordinaire, Jon King, vocalist and theoretician, Dave Allen, ‘funky fingers’ of a bassist and Hugo Burnham on drums - unleashed first album, ‘Entertainment’, probably the greatest debut, ever!

Three albums later [‘Solid Gold’, ‘Songs Of The Free’, ‘Hard’], the sonic revolt was over but not before they got banned by the BBC once again: ‘I Love A Man In A Uniform’ was deemed inappropriate at the time of the Falklands War. The members were professed socialists and anti-capitalists although ‘Econo-political Realists’ is a much fairer tag for their ‘coat-of-arms’.

Live album ‘At The Palace’ was issued four months after the band called it off in 1984 but King and Gill couldn’t stay away from each other for long and have been issuing albums every few over the past dozen years but... None has measured to the songs that are on the ‘Brief History’ and that’s why every house should be supplied a copy by the Government. If for no other reason but to find out what as varied artists as Red Hot Chili Peppers (pity the boys went poptastic), Erase Errata and The Rapture found so much to get inspired by these Intel-rebels.

This ‘Brief History’ flows like magma of gems and marks one of the most glorious episodes in Brit-music. A reissue worth everyone’s tenner… priceless, actually. I just realised how privileged people of the day were but the majority, as ever, couldn’t be bothered to shift their arses further than a remote! [If there were then, that is!]

How much Go4 can really matter now is a good question when we are offered is a babe on a piano… pardon - (un)dressing well and making (fictitious) love on a backdrop. But then, what more a man could want? Aesthetics? Vive les hormones!

9/10