Gang Of Four bids Dublin it’s final farewell tonight, their second of two nights at Button Factory. Jon King at the front and Hugo Burnham at the back, with Ted Leo (The Pharmacists) and Gail Greenwood (Belly / L7) filling in very respectably for the sadly departed Andy Gill (2020) and Dave Allen (2025).
Phill Jupitus (aka Porky the Poet) opens the night with his witty, acerbic poetry and storytelling. A interesting and appropriate fit for Gang Of Four, he started as a lefty performance poet supporting the likes of Newtown Neurotics, Billy Bragg and Style Council. Tonight he tells of the humiliations of supporting Madness, filthy Haiku, disappointed goths in Essex graveyards and vinegar strokes (don’t look it up, you won’t find anything… but think orgasm), interspersed with poking fun at the audience. Controlled ramblings, maybe a post-punk alternative to John Cooper Clarke? He’s a funny man.
Gang Of Four play two sets. The first is their debut album ‘Entertainment’, in order and entirety. The second is a mishmash from singles and albums up to 1982, with the exception of ‘I Parade Myself’ from 1995, and a rather strange and jarring inclusion of a Lisa O’Neill song ‘Rock The Machine’ sung by Leo.
It’s an energetic night. The Button Factory is a packed sweatbox. Jon King moves back and forth across the stage like he’s still in his twenties. It’s great to see Burnham at the skins again, him being the most sporadic original member. Tribal and bare—no unnecessary frill. Greenwood is a great, solid bassist, filling the space between King and Burnham very nicely. What Leo is missing (in my head) is that jerky razor-like kinetic thing that was unique to Gill. But I can appreciate he’s in a difficult position that hovers somewhere around emulation and honor, and once I’ve got it straight that he’s not Gill, it’s all okay. He’s a great player. He’s very worthy.
Groundbreaking in 1979 for content and style, hearing ‘Entertainment’ is thrilling as fuck in all its political rantings and danceable angularity. You can feel the crowd shift and lift for Damaged Goods, I Found That Essence Rare, At Home He’s A Tourist, and especially Anthrax.
For the second set, after the hiccup that is ‘Machine’, the microwave is wheeled out and King smashes it to pieces with a bat for He’ll Send In The Army. There’s a thrill not knowing where bits of it might end up. Phill Jupitus sits in the pit, squinting, with his phone in front of his face, partly to video, but I suspect mostly to shield. I myself go for sunglasses. After, a vacuum cleaner is wheeled on stage and a rather futile attempt is made to clean up the glass, to the amusement of those at the front.
The set, once again, is brilliant, with shifts coming in the obvious forms of I Love A Man In Uniform and To Hell With Poverty. What We All Want is also straight up, danceable brilliance.
Their encore includes a very early song called Elevator, previously only demoed, from when, as King explains, he was doing a poor imitation of Dr Feelgood’s Lee Brilleaux and Gill was trying to be Wilko Johnson. He also admits to the lyrics being pretty awful. He’s right.
For the final song they reprise Damaged Goods, the reason for this becoming poignant when King sings the refrain “I’m kissing you goodbye. Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye” as he waves goodbye to us. It brings a tear to the eye. Memories of taping GOF off the John Peel show on BBC 1 radio a million years ago, and then followed by the absences of Gill and Allen. It’s very much the end of a truly brilliant era. It’s all very emotional.
Phil Jupitus photos:
Gang Of Four photos & set-list:
Set-list:
Ether
Natural’s Not in It
Not Great Men
Damaged Goods
Return the Gift
Guns Before Butter
I Found That Essence Rare
Glass
Contract
At Home He’s a Tourist
5.45
Love Like Anthrax
Rock the Machine (Lisa O’Neill cover)
He’d Send in the Army
Capital – It Fails Us Now
Outside the Trains Don’t Run on Time
Paralysed
What We All Want
I Love a Man in a Uniform
I Parade Myself
To Hell With Poverty
Armalite Rifle
Elevator
Damaged Goods
Photos & words Cormac Figgis @themasterswitch