Gang of Four

Entertainment! (1979)

eatdogs

“The Indian smiles, he thinks that the Cowboy is his friend. The cowboy

smiles, he is glad the Indian is fooled. Now he can exploit him…”*[1]

The three images on the cover of Leeds England’s own Gang of

Four and their 1979 debut album Entertainment!

depict a Native American shaking hands with a Cowboy. The colors are processed

and awash with both red and white representing the stereotypical depiction of

the race of each person. The images come together closer with the handshake

forming into a sorta tentacle manifestation. Its eerie and thought provoking if

you can recall the historical past events of the Native American Holocaust in

America. Of course, that is all academic now, but the idea of a UK act bringing

forth this notion of what amounted to greed and genocide is rather welcoming in

the fact that at least someone talked about it and tried to highlight the truth

in a sense back then. This is just one of many political statements the band

brings on this album and it is a heady collection to down.

“I spend most of my

money on myself so that I can stay fat.”

“We’re grateful for

his left-overs…”

“Look how happy they

are!”

The back cover of the album depicts a family with smiling

faces with what looks like an obese man leering over them in a false embracement.

I can attribute this to gluttony, but it might as well be a depiction of the

disruption of the family unit by means of role in the hierarchy. The hierarchy

of the family unit crossed blended with the UK situation at the time. The

Falklands war was imminent and people in the lower class brought up in

servitude of the King/Queen political dynamic. It is like a monster eating the

town folk, but here it was class struggle and when it comes to starvation,

those at the top will eat first and then eventually everyone else. It will happen

in the home too with Proletarians suffering the most besides the poor.

“Those who decide what

everyone will do grow rich because the decisions are made in their interest.

They are pleased at how well they rule the others. The others smile too,

thinking that their rulers know best…”

You can listen to something and know that it is heavy in

both tone and sound by concentrating on the overall ambience. What does it make

“you” feel when jamming it? I consider this a heavy album in the purest sense of the word heavy. There is no room

for breathing because your attention focuses on the splendor of the melodic chaos

played. It is crunchy Post-Punk, but also danceable. That combination seems

like a good fit on paper, but try dancing in a club to a song such as “Damaged

Goods” (ironically if you can) with a topic such as sexual politics being the

main prose. The narrator of the song very much shows no self-awareness in

regards to his own self. “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…”

In July 1972 the Special Category Status (SCS) was granted

by British Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, William Whitelaw, to all

the prisoners convicted of Troubles*[2]-related

offences. The song “Ether” references this historical account from the

perspective of the prisoners themselves. “Trapped

in Heaven life style (locked on Long Kesh*[3]) / Now looking out for pleasure (H-block torture) / It’s at the end of

the rainbow (white noise in) / The happy ever after (A white room)…”

“Ether” is the first track on the album and is a beast of a

song. The musicianship of each band member is exquisite with the guitar work of

Andy Gill being a highlight. It’s almost like the sound of clanging cell doors

being closed and opened. There is a bleakness to the track and the singing of

Jon King brings forth a crucial tone as if someone is actually locked up in a

cell themselves with no hope to get out. Shuttered in mind you. In addition,

King’s use of the harmonica is a nice touch (reminiscent of those old timey

images of people in lock-up playing the blues). The bass is also great and

plods along like the beating heart of the prisoner and the accompanied drums

sound like a guard knocking harder and harder on the door. The “White room” as

sung, perhaps represents solitary confinement. Maybe physically or mentally who knows?

Following that is the “white noise”. A prison, with all its combinations of

atrocity and mental anguish, breathes down on the convict like a blanket of

uncomfortable madness. The song then builds up to an incredible climax of fury as angst accompanies it throughout. The brutality of the track leads itself down a

dark path and it feels like there is no escape.

“The facts are

presented neutrally so that the public can make up it’s own mind. Mass

communication tips it’s hat to the great men of history. Things happening in

the world appears so real they could almost be in your own living room…”

Very strong emotions are spoken on this album. Whether or

not you can stomach the intentional output of politics and personal reflection

is up to you, but it all seems relatable in different ways. Listen to a track

like “Contract”. It is a song about contradicting and challenging traditional

concepts of love. “Is this really the way

it is / Or a contract in our mutual interest…” What is the notion of love these

days? Varying ways of which a person can interpret it him or herself would take

a clustermuck of inordinate amount time. However if you sign a contract you

need to read the words carefully. This song is really speaking about if this is

real love, or not at all and simply a one-off. “We couldn’t perform In the way the other wanted / These social dreams put

into practice in the bedroom…”

As the previous song attempts to question love, you have a

track like “Natural’s Not In It” attacking the topic of Commodification head

on. “The problem of leisure / What to do

for pleasure / Ideal love a new purchase / A market of the senses…” Another

line in the song says, “The body’s good

business / Sell out maintain the interest”. Commodification is right there

in your face every day. It could be products (IPhone, Car, House, Food), or

even emotional ideals like selling sex (television, magazines, clothing). “The problem

of leisure, what to do for pleasure?” Exactly on point. What can you do about

it? Naturals not in it is correct because nothing about this stuff is natural. Commodities

will all turn to ash and your body left scarred if you follow down its path in

the braindead consumerism, or the sorrowful leasing of one’s own self. This song

hits some deep notes and is honestly hard to listen to when taking down the

context personally.

“The Police act

impartially to defend the right of a minority group. Men act heroically to

defend their country. However unsavory, events are shown in palatable way.

People are given what they want…”

Other topics covered are the Maoist Guerilla Warfare in the

song “5:45”. The eruption of instrumentals towards the end of the track once

the phrase “Guerilla war struggle is a

new entertainment” are ferociously catchy while album closer “Anthrax”

starts with an anti-Jimmy Hendrix-esque feedback drenched orchestration that

doesn’t seem patriotic at all. The song also has this unique dynamic of two

parallel sets of lyrical lines sung in tandem to each other. It is as if a

conversation between two folks is taking place with all dialogue only. The song even

creeps on the stylings of spoken word and it is very cool to hear. The contrast

between patient lyrics and the immediate distortion of harsh music makes for

one of the more “arty” songs on the album.

Entertainment! has

been hailed as one of the best Punk albums ever made. It is definitely in the

top pedigree when it comes to the genre as well as Post-Punk, which it is more

aligned with. It also feels like a cavernous wealth of spastic noise, but

played with skill and thought towards the impact of its confrontation to the listener.

The political and emotional degrees of blatant imagery on this album is

sometimes staggering and hard to grasp on first listen, but the wealth of ideas

and forthcoming (present in 2017) notion of devourment of society is at its

best here than in most politically influenced records.

“The advances of

technology help to make a better world. We keep in touch with our heritage…”

In the end, Gang of Four did the world a favor and gave us material

that can be studied, praised, dissected, vilified, hated, and then loved to

death on the context and concept of whatever it is, they are saying. This is

entertainment indeed. Dig it…

1. (*Album artwork and quotes inspired by the

Situationist International group who’s art is derived primarily from

anti-authoritarian Marxism and the avant-garde art movements of the early 20th

century, particularly Dada and Surrealism. 1957-1972.*)

2. (*The Troubles is referring to the ethno-nationalist

conflict in Northern Ireland during the late 20th century. Also known

internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict. It was primarily political

and nationalistic and fueled by historical events, but not a religious

conflict. It lasted from 1968 to 1998.*)

3. (*Her

Majesty's Prison Maze, also known as Long Kesh during the Troubles in Northern

Ireland, was used as a prison for dissenters who may or may not have caused

conflicts during the event.*)