Legendary post-punk band Gang of Four are working with Matador Records on a new archival project. In addition to releasing their first three albums (Entertainment!, Solid Gold, and Songs of the Free) back onto streaming services, the Leeds, England, band have released the audio for 14 archival live shows, along with a curated Spotify playlist of some of their best live tracks.
The live shows released this week were all performed between 1979 and 1984, during Gang of Four’s height in popularity. Some tracks highlighted on the Matador playlist include a rendition of “I Found That Essence Rare,” played during a September 1979 show at Toronto Concert Hall, and a 1983 performance of “I Love a Man in a Uniform” at Hofstra University in New York.
One of Gang of Four’s signature tracks, “Ether,” from Entertainment!, was recently sampled by hip-hop duo Run the Jewels on the track “The Ground Below,” off of their latest album, RTJ4.
Gang of Four’s most recent EP, Anti-Hero, pays tribute to the band’s longtime guitarist and bandleader, Andy Gill, who died this past February. The collection features the songs “Forever Starts Now” and “Day Turns Into Night,” and will be out on July 17th. They previously released the three-track This Heaven Gives Me Migraine EP, which features songs Gill completed in his hospital bed prior to his death.
