Bullseye with Jesse Thorn is a production of MaximumFun.org and is distributed by NPR.

It's Bullseye, I'm Jesse Thorn.

The band Gang of Four formed in the British city of Leeds in the late 70s. There were contemporaries

of other post-punk bands from that era like Joy Division, Wire and the Fall. Maybe you've

heard of Gang of Four, maybe you haven't. Either way, it won't surprise you when I say

that Gang of Four influenced a lot of rock bands. That just kind of goes with the territory

of being a successful post-punk band, which Gang of Four is. They were abrasive, danceable,

unapologetically, politically. What's unique about Gang of Four, though, is the sheer breadth

of their influence. You'll hear that influence in indie bands like Liars and Block Party,

but also in the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Nirvana and REM. And you'll hear Gang of Four

Song sampled in the music of Moby for Frank Ocean or even on the New Run the Jewels.

Gang of Four carried on in a handful of iterations, but the core of the band remained more or

less the same, guitarist Andy Gill and vocalist John King. Gang of Four never really disbanded

until last year, when Gill died suddenly at 64 of pneumonia and organ failure. His

widow suggested he may have been an early victim of the COVID-19 pandemic. This year,

the indie label Matador Records is re-issuing the work of Gang of Four. Gang of Four 77

through 81 is a four-record box set that revisits and elevates some of the band's most important

releases, including their debut, Entertainment. Ahead of release, my friend Jordan Morris

sat down with the singer John King to talk about the band, its legacy, and what it was

like playing danceable music at punk rock shows. Here's another Gang of Four classic,

damaged goods. John King, welcome to Bullseye. So Gang of Four gets categorized as a punk band

or a post punk band, but there's so much going on in the music. It is such a rich, hardy

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