Get all 12 Gang of Four releases available on Bandcamp and save 30%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of La Roux - Damaged Goods remixes EP (taken from The Problem of Leisure, Gang of Four covers album), The Problem of Leisure. A celebration of Andy Gill and Gang of Four (20 tracks feat. IDLES, Tom Morello, Flea & more!), ANTI HERO EP, This Heaven Gives Me Migraine EP, Happy Now, Complicit EP, Lucky, Live...In The Moment, and 4 more.
1. |
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Turn your back on London's bitter pride
And melancholic isolation
Force-feed yourself sentimentality
With golden age mythology
A feudal order, rootless no more
But in the night the ravens Caw
False memories
Fake history
Next you'll talk of racial purity
Where the Nightingale sings
The nettle and the dock leaf grow
Union abiding
Where your name is known
Always want simpler relations
Walk away from anonymity
A feudal order, rootless no more
But in the night the ravens caw
Force-feed yourself sentimentality
False memories
Fake history
False memories
Fake history
Next you'll talk of racial purity
Where the Nightingale sings
The nettle and the dock leaf grow
Union abiding
Where your name is known
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2. |
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No weak men in the books at home
The strong men who have made the world
History lives on the books at home
The books at home
It's not made by great men
It's not made by great men
It's not made by great men
It's not made by great men
The past lives on in your front room
The poor still weak, the rich still rule
History lives in the books at home
The books at home
It's not made by great men
It's not made by great men
It's not made by great men
It's not made by great men
The past lives in the books at home
No weak men in the books at home
History lives in the books at home
The books at home
It's not made by great men
It's not made by great men
It's not made by great men
It's not made by great men
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3. |
I Parade Myself
05:06
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Look at me, ain't I fine
Brand new me, dig my mine
I parade myself
One on one, I am nouveau
Here I come, there I go
I parade myself
Catch my eyes, aren't we a pair
I'm not shy, touch me there
I parade myself
I win
When
I invent myself again
I parade myself
I win
When
I make myself again
I parade myself
Ain't I ripe, what a peach
Everything is in my reach
I parade myself
Now I accuse, face to face
The one to lose this one man race
I parade myself
I win
When
I invent myself again
I parade myself
I am civilized
I live wall to wall
But I ain't shy
Don't avoid my eyes
Hid some razor blades
In the wedding cake
I walk on by
Singing bye, bye, bye
I parade
I parade myself
Bye, bye, bye
I parade
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4. |
Paralysed
03:29
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Blinkered, paralysed
Flat on my back
They say our world is built on endeavour
That every man is for himself
Wealth is for the one that wants it
Paradise, if you can earn it
History is the reason
I'm washed up
Blinkered, paralysed
Flat on my back
My ambitions come to nothing
What I wanted now just seems a waste of time
I can't make out what has gone wrong
I was good at what I did
The crows come home to roost
And I’m the dupe
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5. |
What We All Want
05:20
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This wheel spins, let me off
It's not for lack of trying
Can't put my finger on it
You can't help being hard up
Can't trust the god we trusted
Don't think that's any insurance
Could I be happy with something else?
I need something to fill my time
Could I be happy with something else?
I need someone to fill my time
This wheel spins, let me off
These doubts nagging worries
Nothing to work towards
This demon on back
Preaches the razor's cut
The hope that does not fade
Could I be happy with something else?
I need something to fill my time
Could I be happy with something else
I need something to fill my time
This wheel spins, let me off
It's not for lack of trying
Can't put my finger on it
You can't help being hard up
Can't trust the god you trusted
Don't think that's any insurance
Could I be happy with something else?
I need something to fill my time
Could I be happy with something else
I need someone to fill my time
Could I be happy with something else?
I need something to fill my time
Could I be happy with something else
I need someone to fill my time
What we want's not what we get
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6. |
Love Like Anthrax
04:06
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Woke up this morning, desperation A.M
What I've been saying won't say them again
My head's not empty, it's full with my brain
The thoughts I'm thinking, like piss down a drain
Love crops up quite a lot as something to sing about, 'cause most groups
Make most of their songs about falling in love, or how happy they are
To be in love - you occasionally wonder why these groups
Do sing about it all the time, piss down a drain
And I feel like a beetle on its back
And there's no way for me to get up
Love'll get you like a case of anthrax
And that's something I don't want to catch
It's because these groups think there's something very special about it
Either that or else it's because everybody else sings about it and always has
You know to burst into song, you have to be inspired
And nothing inspires quite like love
Ought to control what I do to my mind
Nothing in there but sunshades for the blind
Only yesterday I said to myself
The things I'm doing aren't good for my health
These groups and singers think that
They appeal to everyone by singing about love because apparently
Everyone has or can love, I said to myself
Or so they would have you believe anyway - But these groups
And I feel like a beetle on its back
And there's no way for me to get up
Love'll get you like a case of anthrax
And that's something I don't want to catch
Like a beetle on its back
To go along with what, the belief that love is deep in everyone's personality
I don't think we're saying there's anything wrong with love, we just don't think that
What goes on between two people should be shrouded with mystery
Love'll get you like a case of anthrax
And that's something I don't want to catch
Love'll get you like a case of anthrax
And that's something I don't want to catch
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7. |
Do As I Say
03:21
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Whet the blade on the stone, light the fire from the flint
I confess to all of my crimes, tell me more and I'll repeat your lines
You're not natural, you're not as God made you, do as I say, do as I do
Before I'm burned up in the flames, I will give you all the Devil's names?
Do as I say! Do as I do! Do as I say! Do as I do! Do as I say! Do as I do!
The rod to your back I'll use 'til it's broken, you say you re innocent so you must be guilty!
You serve me ill Sir, there's nothing to find, need some face time, need some quality time
I will cleave the soul from the flesh, I am unmoved as you confess!
Look in this glass, we are the same, if we reversed then you'd be in the flames
Do as I say! Do as I do! Do as I say! Do as I do! Do as I say! Do as I do!
Please... Say as I say! Please...
Please... Say as I say! Please... Do as I say!
Burn at the stake! Die for a break!
Lose all I stake! Kill all the day!
She wore some lipstick! She should've covered it!
They dress in dayglo robes In Guantanamo!
Now I know you, I'll follow you
Now I know you, I'll follow you
Now I know you, I'll follow you
Now I know you, I'll follow you
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8. |
Stranded
03:37
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The cool guy laughs: look at the cheap suit
! I'm amused by the conceipt !
The other one says: that's quite a look
! To the fashion front send the conscript !
It's a neat idea it's like cool art
! It's writ large upon our skin !
Thinking to himself should try funny !
! We all love the artifice !
I wear Exquisite Scent of Success ,
I am divine , deluxe beyond reach
In a holding pattern soon to be coming down
No remorse, no second thoughts, I'm stranded
I’m coming down, I hope to land, I'm stranded
Aahh, I hope to land
Aahhh
The therapist says live in the moment
! I must describe desires within !
You're interested in just the two things
! I'm into fucking and money !
You're not up to much you should be better
! I like the way you're never negative !
Ooh, you got a sharp edged tongue, you got the put downs
! I'm an arbiter of taste !
I wear Exquisite Scent of Success ,
I am divine, deluxe beyond reach
In a holding pattern soon to be coming down
No remorse, no second thoughts, I'm stranded
I’m coming down, I hope to land, I'm stranded
Aahh, I hope to land
Aahhh
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9. |
Damaged Goods
04:28
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The change will do you good
I always knew it would
Sometimes I'm thinking that I love you
But I know it's only lust
Your kiss so sweet
Your sweat so sour
Your kiss so sweet
Your sweat so sour
Your kiss so sweet
Your sweat so sour
Sometimes I'm thinking that I love you
But I know it's only lust
The sins of the flesh
Are simply sins of lust
Sweat's running down your neck
Sweat's running down your back
Heated surface in the sun
Colder surface in the night (never saw your body)
Your kiss so sweet
Your sweat so sour
Sometimes I'm thinking that I love you
But I know it's only lust
A change will do you good
I always knew it would
You know the change will do you good
You know the change will do you good
Damaged goods
Send them back
I can't work, I can't achieve
Send them back
Open the till
Give me the change you said would do me good
Your kiss so sweet
Your sweat so sour
Sometimes I'm thinking that I love you
But I know it's only lust
The change will do you good
I always knew it would
You know the change will do you good
You know the change will do you good
Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye, goodbye (bye)
Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye (bye)
Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye, goodbye (bye)
Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye (bye)
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10. |
Isle Of Dogs
04:21
|
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|
Turn your back on London's bitter pride
And melancholic isolation
Force-feed yourself sentimentality
With golden age mythology
A feudal order, rootless no more
But in the night the ravens Caw
False memories
Fake history
Next you'll talk of racial purity
Where the Nightingale sings
The nettle and the dock leaf grow
Union abiding
Where your name is known
Always want simpler relations
Walk away from anonymity
A feudal order, rootless no more
But in the night the ravens caw
Force-feed yourself sentimentality
False memories
Fake history
False memories
Fake history
Next you'll talk of racial purity
Where the Nightingale sings
The nettle and the dock leaf grow
Union abiding
Where your name is known
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11. |
At Home He's A Tourist
04:04
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At home he feels like a tourist
At home he feels like a tourist
He fills his head with culture
He gives himself an ulcer
He fills his head with culture
He gives himself an ulcer
Down on the disco floor
They make their profit
From the things they sell
To help you cover
All the rubbers you hide
In your top left pocket
At home she's looking for interest
At home she's looking for interest
She said she was ambitious
So she accepts the process
She said she was ambitious
So she accepts the process
Down on the disco floor
They make their profit
From the things they sell
To help you cob off
And the rubbers you hide
In your top left pocket
Two steps forward
(Six steps back)
(Six steps back)
(Six steps back)
(Six steps back)
Small step for him
(Big jump for me)
(Big jump for me)
(Big jump for me)
(Big jump for me)
Two steps forward
(Six steps back)
(Six steps back)
(Six steps back)
(Six steps back)
Small step for him
(Big jump for me)
(Big jump for me)
(Big jump for me)
(Big jump for me)
At home she feels like a tourist
At home she feels like a tourist
She fills her head with culture
She gives herself an ulcer
Why make yourself so anxious
You give yourself an ulcer
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12. |
To Hell With Poverty
04:37
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Oh, oh-oh-oh-oh
Oh, oh-oh-oh-oh
In my arms
We shall begin
With none of the rocks
Well there's no charge
In this land right now
Some are insane, and they're in charge
To hell with poverty
We'll get drunk on cheap wine
To hell with poverty
The cheque will arrive
It's in the post again
To hell with poverty
The check will arrive
It's in the post again
Oh, oh-oh-oh-oh
Oh, oh-oh-oh-oh
Oh, oh-oh-oh-oh
Oh, oh-oh-oh-oh
In my arms
We shall begin
With none of the rocks
And there's no charge
In this land right now
Some are insane, and they're in charge
To hell with poverty
We'll get drunk on cheap wine
To hell with poverty
Oh, oh-oh-oh-oh
Oh, oh-oh-oh-oh
Oh, oh-oh-oh-oh
Oh, oh-oh-oh-oh
Oh, oh-oh-oh-oh
Oh, oh-oh-oh-oh
Oh, oh-oh-oh-oh
Oh, oh-oh-oh-oh
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13. |
Why Theory
02:54
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We've all got opinions
Where do they come from?
Each day seems like a natural fact
And what we think changes how we act
We've all got opinions
Where do they come from?
Distant thunder from the east
Won't disturb a morning car wash
Each day seems like a natural fact
And what we think changes how we act
So to change ideas changes what we do
Too much thinking makes me ill
I think I'll have another gin
A few more drinks and it'll be all right
Each day seems like a natural fact
And what we think changes how we act
Each day seems like a natural fact
Each day seems like a natural fact
Each day seems like a natural fact
Each day seems like a natural fact
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14. |
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Aim for the body rare, you'll see it on TV
The worst thing in 1954 was the Bikini
See the girl on the TV dressed in a Bikini
She doesn't think so but she's dressed for the H-Bomb
(For the H-Bomb)
I found that essence rare, it's what I looked for
I knew I'd get what I asked for
Aim for the country fair you read it in the papers
The worst happens any week a scandal on the front page
See the happy pair smiling close like they are monkeys
They wouldn't think so but they're holding themselves down
(Hold themselves down)
I found that essence rare, it's what I looked for
I knew I'd get what I asked for
I found that essence rare, it's what I looked for
I knew I'd get what I asked for
Aim for politicians fair who'll treat your vote hope well
The last thing they'll ever do act in your interest
Look at the world through your Polaroid glasses
Things'll look a whole lot better for the working classes
(Working classes)
I found that essence rare, it's what I looked for
I knew I'd get what I asked for
I found that essence rare, it's what I looked for
I knew I'd get what I asked for
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Gang of Four London, UK
Gang of Four is one of the most radically important, and influential rock groups of the last 40 years.
The Red Hot Chili
Peppers, INXS, R.E.M., U2, Rage Against the Machine have all spoken of their debt to Gang of Four, with today's creators of angular rock music having GO4's influence and imprint all over it.
This page features Gang of Four's new music output from 2008 onwards.
... more
Gang of Four recommends:
The Body Of Christ And The Legs Of Tina Turner
by Fight Like Apes
"it’s clear that Ireland’s Fight Like Apes haven’t toned the weirdness down any for their Andy Gill-produced second long player.” – P J Meiklem, The Skinny, March 29th 2011.
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The UK upstarts' debut veers from sunny, psychedelic folk to bristling post-punk with reckless abandon without ever missing a beat.
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Our Chemistry is a Tightrope
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Hopscotching from jangle pop and post-hardcore to math rock and shoegaze, these Minnesota rockers have a gift for musical multitasking.
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Cardiff band Red Telephone can't disguise the pure pop sensibility in their blistering alt-rock songs.
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Sleemo, from England, fuse math rock, punk, and brawny alt-rock on their volcanic new EP.
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