Matador Records will release a new limited-edition Gang of Four vinyl box set in December called 77-81 that will collect the band’s first two albums, singles, a previously unreleased live set from 1980 and 26 never-before-issued outtakes, demos and rarities from the era.
The collection is due out Dec. 11 — it can be preordered now via Amazon — and it features newly remastered pressings of 1979’s Entertainment! and 1981’s Solid Gold on vinyl, plus an LP on singles and a double LP titled Live at American Indian Center 1980.
The set — which spotlights the original Go4 lineup of bassist Dave Allen, drummer Hugo Burnham, guitarist Andy Gill and singer Jon King — also includes a 90-minute cassette with 26 previously unreleased demos and outtakes from Entertainment! and Solid Gold, plus a 100-page, full-color hardbound book.
The release of the new box set comes less than a year after the loss of Gill, who died Feb. 1 from a respiratory illness now believed to have been COVID-19.
Check out the full tracklist for 77-81 below.
Gang of Four, 77-81
VINYL
Entertainment!
A1. Ether
A2. Natural’s Not In It
A3. Not Great Men
A4. Damaged Goods
A5. Return The Gift
A6. Guns Before Butter
B1. I Found That Essence Rare
B2. Glass
B3. Contract
B4. At Home He’s A Tourist
B5. 5.45
B6. Love Like Anthrax
Solid Gold
A1. Paralysed
A2. What We All Want
A3. If I Could Keep It For Myself
A4. Outside The Trains Don’t Run On Time
A5. Why Theory?
B1. Cheeseburger
B2. The Republic
B3. In The Ditch
B4. A Hole In The Wallet
B5. He’d Send In The Army
Singles
A1. To Hell With Poverty
A2. It’s Her Factory
A3. Armalite Rifle
B1. Capital (It Fails Us Now)
B2. History’s Bunk!
B3. Cheeseburger (Live) *
B4. What We All Want (Live) *
* Live at Hammersmith Palais
Live at American Indian Center 1980
A1. Not Great Men
A2. Contract
A3. Outside The Trains Don’t Run On Time
A4. Damaged Goods
B1. He’d Send In The Army
B2. Guns Before Butter
B3. 5.45
C1. Anthrax
C2. It’s Her Factory
C3. Ether
C4. Natural’s Not In It
D1. At Home He’s A Tourist
D2. Rosanne
D3. Return The Gift
D4. Glass
CASSETTE
Side A: The Early Demos
Rehearsal Room – Leeds, 1977-78
The Things You Do
What You Ask For
Armalite Rifle
Love Like Anthrax
Silence Is Not Useful
Disco Sound
Damaged Goods
Elevator
Cargo Demos – Cargo Studio, Rochdale
Song One
Song Two
The Tapes – Polydor Studios, Jan. 1978
Essence Rare
Tourist
Return The Gift
5.45
Corked Up With The Ether
Side B: Abbey Road Demos
From 5th January 1981 (Single track from cassette)
Why Theory
Cargo
Trains
Army
Disco/Funk
Dog’s Breath
Asshole
Cymbal
Reverb
Cheeseburger
Ditch
PREVIOUSLY ON SLICING UP EYEBALLS
- Andy Gill, founding guitarist of post-punk legends Gang of Four, dead at 64
- Gang of Four sets North American tour in support of new album ‘What Happens Next’
- Vintage Video: Gang of Four deliver an electrifying set at Croatian festival in 1981
- Andy Gill debuts new song, album plans as Gang of Four moves on without Jon King
- Video: Gang of Four, ‘It Was Never Gonna Turn Out Too Good,’ off 2011′s ‘Content’
- Video: Watch Gang of Four’s 40-minute live set recorded for KCRW
Would be interested in this if it was released on CD.
Totally agree.
Yeah, this vinyl only trend is becoming annoying. I think I read somewhere that vinyl outsold cds for the first time ever this year, which I admit is pretty amazing. But still, I don’t own a record player. If record companies(especially indies) want to be cool and hip and release LPs, that’s fine, but at least give us the option of a cd release as well. And a CASSETTE?! My tape player died 20 years ago.
Hell, most of my friends only stream music/movies and look at me funny when I tell them I still buy physical media like cds and blu-rays. Just not LPs, though.
Who has a CD player these days anyway? Mine is in an old computer and when that goes, I have nothing left to play those on. Besides I transferred all of them into files, so no need for CDs at all. Cars don’t even have CD players anymore. The only physical format left that sells is vinyl. I recommend shelling out the cash for one. I was REALLY ticked when I bought one for Music Complete then they went and released the remix album separately, but after several years the record player has had much use and I love it now.
“Who has a CD player these days…” Not sure, but certainly everyone that owns a DVD/Blu-ray/Ultra 4K Blu-ray player has a device capable of playing CDs. They do make external USB CD drives too. That covers a huge buying audience. My first LP was “London Calling” in 5th grade and most recent purchase was Bob Mould’s 24 CD box set last week at the tender/grumpy age of 50. I’m an 80’s kid who has aged out of LPs…still have some old vinyl gathering dust around but nothing to play it on.
I’d even argue that the current vinyl sales figures are purposely inflated with all the combo sets that include both the CD + vinyl product [which format gets the sales credit in that case]. The music industry just continues to test the patience of buyers and they’ll soon have their wish of 100% streaming. Legacy acts, like the Gang of Four here will be relegated to royalties paid at one hundredth of a penny per song streamed- pure shiite if you ask me. Okay fine, cassette it is. Turns out the industry is sustainable.
Most physical sales in the UK by a huge majority are CD not vinyl. Figures were 80% to 20% for 2019. There has been a rise in vinyl sales – but the only way vinyl challenges CD is in cost/revenues. The CD is in huge decline but stop believing industry hype that the future is all vinyl. All that is abt is inflating profit margins because of the exorbitant price of vinyl.
I’d love a CD release, too. Plenty of us still like having lines notes and uncompressed, full-fidelity sound. I owned both vinyl and cassettes before CDs came out, but CDs became (and still remain) my physical format of choice.