GANG OF FOUR

GANG OF FOUR is an ENGLISH POST-PUNK/ROCK GROUP composed of Four Young Men in their early twenties who convened in the late 70s in Leeds. The band's line-up are lead singer JOHN KING, guitarist ANDY GILL, bass guitarist DAVE ALLEN and drummer HUGO BURNHAM. These guys should not be mistaken from the Chinese Communist Party Officials who were prominent during the 60s-70s Chinese Revolution who were also called Gang Of Four. GANG OF FOUR was introduced here in MANILA by WXB102 back in 1986 by playing the classic slam-dancing hit "DAMAGED GOODS". YUP!! It's the one and only big hit from the band here in MANILA back then. Even though there were quite a few songs from the band that were played during those times, all of these cannot be compared with the popularity of their song DAMAGED GOODS. Alhough WXB102 first played the song back in 1986, It was both NU107 and DZBM POWER 105 that actually made it very popular and to be exact of the term I have to say that these two radio stations "COMMERCIALIZED" the song. NU107 overplayed the song on early 1988 and DZBM POWER105 on the otherhand organized a NEW WAVE afternoon party entitled "DAMAGED GOODS" held at the Legendary JEALOUSY DISCO back in 1988 and "DAMAGED GOODS 2" at the Legendary WHISPERS DISCO wayback 1989 which I have mentioned here in my blog "The Doctor Is In" on my 33 1/3 BLOGPOST last December 11, 2008.


GANG OF FOUR is one high energy rockin' band that has lasted for more than three decades now and have mixed contemporary funk and reggae rhythms that tore the music down into a new dimension with a hard fast attitude. Definitely, this band made a mark for PINOY NEW WAVERS and PUNKS alike back in the 80s. POWER105 included their songs "I LOVE THE MAN IN THE UNIFORM" and "IS IT LOVE" in their playlist wayback 1988. Would you believe that I even heard "CHEESE BURGER" song a couple of times on Power105? Hmmmp!! The song CHEESE BURGER just reminded me of a usual sponsor of DZBM POWER 105 back then which is SCOTT BURGER. YUP!! I remember the RADIO AD of this Burger Chain on the station and of course eating that SCOTT POWER BURGER (Buy One Take One) back in the 80s. He He He!! POWER burger? I guess that would be related to POWER105. What do you think guys? I wonder what Burger Machine(BM) would have to say about this since It's DZBM-FM. Naaaah!! Whenever you talk about GANG OF FOUR here in the PHILIPPINES then It's got to be "DAMAGED GOODS" Ohooo hoo hoo....send me back"!! Definitely, "YOUR KISS SO SWEET, YOUR SWEAT SO SOUR" is a classic line for PINOY WAVERS/PUNKS during parties back then. Wheeew!! Those were the good ol' days indeed KABAYANS!! Slamdancing time I may say!! He He He!! DAMAGED GOODS was also included on a Philippine New Wave Cassette Tape Compilation entitled "DIFFERENT TRIBES" released wayback 1988.Unfortunately my friend JACK J. doesn't have this compilation tape anymore on his vaults. GANG OF FOUR released FIVE STUDIO ALBUMS namely Entertainment! (1979), Solid Gold (1981), Songs Of The Free (1982), Hard (1983),Mall (1991) and Shrinkwrapped (1995).



GANG OF FOUR has been doing LIVE CONCERTS the past decade which I think is good for the NEW GENERATION of music enthusiasts to catch up with the band. In 2005 Gang Of Four re-recorded a 2-CD compilation of the band's favorite tunes entitled "Return The Gift" wherein all the tracks were lifted from their first three studio albums namely ENTERTAINMENT, SOLID GOLD, and SONGS OF THE FREE. This compilation featured Mark Heaney on drums while Hugo Burnham left to focus on his successful academic career in the USA. In April 2008 Dave Allen left to be replaced by Thomas McNiece. Last year 2008 we saw the release of a Brand New Single from the band entitled "SECOND LIFE" which I heard played on NU107.

Here's My GANG OF 3 GANG OF FOUR collection:


That's Three GANG OF FOUR MATERIALS from my Modest Collection:

1) "HARD" Vinyl Record
2) "GANG OF FOUR (A Brief History Of The Twentieth Century)" CD
3) "RETURN THE GIFT" CD

Well, not that much but these three materials have satisfied my GANG OF FOUR cravings. Who knows I might add some more in the near future. Incidentally, my good friend "The Beatmeister" made a New Wave Mix recently on his "Totally Mixed Up" Blog entitled "DAMAGED GOODS Slam Dance Mix". Click the Red GANG OF FOUR picture to enter BEAT's blog and listen to "The Beatmeister Mix":

Here's a VINTAGE PHOTO of "DAMAGE GOOD" 1988 PARTY TICKET
JEALOUSY DISCO:

Courtesy of Nilo X

Here's a VINTAGE PHOTO of "DAMAGED GOODS 2" 1989 PARTY TICKET
WHISPER DISCO

Courtesy of ERIC PASCUAL of 33 1/3


Two weeks ago, as I was browsing the Multiply World, I got the chance to see this Party Poster from DJ Mike Timbol of Legendary Manila New Wave Mobile 33 1/3 entitled "DAMAGED GOODS 2 Send Me Back Into A Journey Of NEW WAVE Music". Then, I remembered my very own 33 1/3 blogpost last year that there was already a "DAMAGED GOODS 2" back in 1989 and so I informed DJ MIKE about what I noticed. YUP!! He was unaware of it and was amazed that it should be "DAMAGED GOODS 3" already. He He He!! DJ MIKE THANKED me on the said correction then immediately changed the Party Poster to the right one which is "DAMAGED GOODS III".

Here's the supposed "DAMAGED GOODS 2" Party Poster:


Here's the corrected "DAMAGED GOODS III" Party Poster


So KABAYANS if you're free this JUNE 27, 2009 Saturday then do check out "DAMAGED GOODS III" party at CABIZERRA BISTRO Congressional Avenue Quezon City. Just click the poster to read the finer details. YUP!! It has been 20 years since the "DAMAGED GOODS 2" party was held and now It's back.


Definitely GANG OF FOUR's "DAMAGED GOODS" will always be on the memories of every PINOY NEW WAVERS and PUNKS!!

Here's Gang of Four Video Damaged Goods
LIVE in Atlanta, GA in 1980.
Courtesy TralfamadorianRed





Btw, just for added INFO here's a photo of the original CHINESE GANG OF FOUR composed of JIANG QUING(leader), ZHANG CHUNQIAO, YAO WENYUAN, and WANG HONGWEN.

Here's what our FAVORITE ARTISTS would have to say about GANG OF FOUR:

"Hard, angular, bold... Andy Gill's chin is the very black hole of '90's music we should have all disappeared into... if we had sense... a dimple atop the body politic, a pimple on the arse of pop. A Gang of Four metal guru, a corporation of common sense, a smart bomb of text that had me 'at home feeling like a typist.'"
- Bono (U2)


"Gang of Four knew how to swing. I stole a lot from them."
- Michael Stipe (R.E.M.)

"(They) took no prisoners. It was art meets the devil via James Brown"
- Michael Hutchence (INXS)

I uploaded three music files for you to listen to here in my blog.


LISTEN and SING to "DAMAGED GOODS" HERE:



- Gang Of Four Lyrics


LISTEN TO "I LOVE THE MAN IN THE UNIFORM"

LISTEN TO DAMAGED GOOD 2005 version from "RETURN THE GIFT"





Well, I do hope you ENJOYED another trip down memory lane courtesy of "The Doctor Is In". It's just my own little tribute to a band called "GANG OF FOUR". THANKS for dropping by!!


My GANG OF FOUR blogpost
is a DAMAGED GOOD
.....Ohoo hoo hoo!!
-DR. STIRRING RHOD