The new Gang Of Four collection will be released on March 12th.
Newly remastered versions of Entertainment! and Solid Gold have been packed up with early singles, demos, a previously officially unreleased live show and a 100-page hardbound book in a treasure chest of a boxset for Gang Of Four fans.
It’s being previewed with a lyric video for Damaged Goods, whilst a demo of the unreleased song Elevator – which will be included on the cassette version – is streaming online too.
“Andy and I both lived in a shitty house in Leeds where we used to sing the band or Muddy Waters songs, chugging disgusting homebrew beer that I fermented in a dustbin,” Jon King says.
“We started writing songs – mostly homages to Dr. Feelgood or The Velvets – recording them on a crappy cassette player. Inspired by the New York scene and with UK punk rock on a thrilling rampage, Hugo, Gill and I formed a band.”
The first couple of gigs were those early songs and a fast Beatles cover. Dave joining us raised the bar. He was really good, and we quickly came up with new material we all wrote together, built on grooves from Dave & Hugo, over which Andy and I would improvise until we’d got somewhere.”
“Elevator always worked well live. It was a keeper until it wasn’t. By the time we got into the Workhouse studio to record Entertainment, it was in the dumper. I’d forgotten ever writing it until it was dug up for the box set cassette. I like it: the jangly riff, propulsive rhythm, and dopey lyrics take me right back to the day.”