Gang Of Four - Borderline, London, 12/4/2019
by Adrian Janes
published: 24 / 4 / 2019

intro
Adrian Janes watches influential post-punk the Gang of Four in a show at the Borderline in London play a fiery set to promote their new album 'Happy Now'.
On a chilly April evening Gang of Four, centred around sole remaining original member Andy Gill, played a fiery set in the intimate confines of the Borderline. Spanning the band’s entire career, with songs drawn mainly from 1979’s epochal ‘Entertainment!’ and this year’s ‘Happy Now’ (note the lack of a question mark), the trio of accomplices Gill has gradually assembled during this century - vocalist John ‘Gaoler’ Sterry, bassist Thomas McNeice and drummer Tobias Humble - showed themselves to have really become a band now. McNeice somehow managed to dance with his bass on the Borderline’s small stage as he continually laid down strong lines, while Humble’s drumming had that combination of power and inventive fills that you expect from the Gang of Four’s distinctive brand of rock-funk. Sterry doesn’t have a very distinctive voice, but he delivered the songs with conviction and a presence that sometimes suggested John Lydon’s malevolent stare, at others Ian Curtis’ anguish. Gill’s guitar was barbed and resonant, an echo in a sense of the lyrics found in songs such as ‘Damaged Goods’ and ‘Ether’, the latter’s Ulster references suddenly even more potent with the announcement of trials of British soldiers for murder in the early Seventies. The least histrionic of musicians, he stood barely moving while teasing out stiletto-sharp riffs, an enigmatic, black-clad uncle amongst his boisterous nephews. Despite strong performances throughout, so that on the night newer songs like ‘Paper Thin’ blended well with classics like ‘At Home He’s A Tourist’ from ‘Entertainment!’, it remains the case that the latter set the bar so high for the Gang Of Four in terms of power and popularity that no version of the band has ever quite reached it again. It’s those forty year-old songs alone which now prompt spontaneous audience participation. Maybe it’s a sign of domestication of what was once the leading edge of provocative post-punk. But I doubt that anyone there minded filling their heads with such culture.
Band Links:-
http://gangoffour.co.uk/https://www.facebook.com/gangoffourofficial
https://twitter.com/gangof4official
Picture Gallery:-


interviews |
Interview (2016) |
![]() |
Andy Gill, frontman, co-founder and only remaining original member of British post-punk band, the Gang of Four, speaks to Lisa Torem about new multi-media project ‘Live..In The Moment’ as well as his vast experience as a producer, guitarist and arranger |
profiles |
'Songs of the Free'/'Hard' Profile (2008) |
![]() |
Anthony Strutt examines Gang Of Four's third album from 1982, ‘Songs of the Free’, and fourth album from 1983, ‘Hard’, both of which have been recently reissued |
live reviews |
Metro, Chicago, 30/9/2016 |
![]() |
Lisa Torem watches as post-punk outfit Gang of Four bowl over new fans as well as old at a gig at Chicago's intimate Metro |
Macbeth,London, 24/8/2009 |
reviews |
Live…In the Moment (2016) |
![]() |
Praiseworthy new live CD/DVD from seminal UK post-punk outfit, the Gang of Four |
Second Life/Paralysed (2008) |
most viewed articles
current edition
Pennyblackmusic - Writers and Photographers' Albums of the Year 2024Man From Delmonte - Interview
Pennyblackmusic - Book of the Year Award 2024
Clive Langer - Interview
Johnnie Johnstone - Interview
Marianne Faithfull - Reflections
Laura Nyro - Profile
Vinyl Stories - Vinyl 2024
Bob Dylan - A Complete Unknown
Saloon - Peel Sessions 21.08.01 • 16.04.03
previous editions
Heavenly - P.U.N.K. Girl EPMarianne Faithfull - Interview
Michael Stuart Ware - Pegasus Epitaph: The Story of the Legendary Rock Group Love
Trudie Myerscough-Harris - Interview
Marianne Faithfull - Interview
Dwina Gibb - Interview
Jimmy Nail - Interview
Sound - Interview with Bi Marshall Part 1
Beautiful South - Ten Songs That Made Me Love...
Allan Clarke - Interview
most viewed reviews
current edition
Ringo Starr - Look UpPixie Lott - Encino
Dorie Jackson - Stupid Says Run
Dusty Springfield - The BBC Sessions
Beabadoobee - This is How The World Moves
Emily Burns - Die Happy
Rosie Lowe - Lover, Other
Joan Armatrading - How Did This Happen and What Does It Mean?
Unthanks - In Winter
Oïmiakon - Comptoir Des Vanites
related articles |
Gary Numan: Live Review (2014 |
![]() |
In front of an exuberant crowd, Adrian Janes watches 80's icon Gary Numan, with the reformed Gang of Four as support, perform a brooding but electrifying show at the Hammersmith Apollo in London |
Pennyblackmusic Regular Contributors
Adrian Janes
Amanda J. Window
Andrew Twambley
Anthony Dhanendran
Benjamin Howarth
Cila Warncke
Daniel Cressey
Darren Aston
Dastardly
Dave Goodwin
Denzil Watson
Dominic B. Simpson
Eoghan Lyng
Fiona Hutchings
Harry Sherriff
Helen Tipping
Jamie Rowland
John Clarkson
Julie Cruickshank
Kimberly Bright
Lisa Torem
Maarten Schiethart