The Problem of Leisure: A Celebration of Andy Gill and Gang of Four, a compilation album of new interpretations of Gang of Four songs featuring Tom Morello, Gary Numan, Flea and more is arriving this Friday, June 4th. You can pre-order it, here.
PRE-ORDER THE PROBLEM OF LEISURE: A CELEBRATION OF ANDY GILL & GANG OF FOUR.
The Problem of Leisure had originally been conceived by Andy Gill himself, not as a tribute, but to mark the 40th anniversary in 2019 of Gang Of Four’s extraordinary 1979 debut LP Entertainment! – an album widely heralded as a punk classic. Following his unexpected death in February 2020, the legendary guitarist’s wife, Catherine Meyer assembled a small team to complete his vision.
“Even in hospital, he wanted to keep working on the project that had excited him for more than two years – and he did, right up until five days before he died,” Mayer said. Watch her message introducing the album below.
Every musician who committed to the project was given the freedom to create new versions of whichever Gang of Four songs they wanted to cover, with Andy overseeing some of the earlier productions but largely leaving artists to create their own interpretations. The result is a double album of tracks, written by Andy Gill and Gang of Four, all newly reinterpreted and recorded by an incredible roll call of talent, including iconic musicians like Flea and Gary Numan and Helmet, alongside contemporary starts like Warpaint and La Roux; demonstrating the massive reach and influence of Gang of Four’s 40-plus year career.
The first single from The Problem Of Leisure was released earlier in the year on January 1, 2021, to mark what would have been Gill’s 65th birthday. It’s slamming a cover of “Natural’s Not in It” from 1979’s Enterainment! featuring the guitar wizardry of Rage Against the Machine’s Tom Morello and unmistakable vocal of System of a Down’s Serb Tankian. Listen below.
“Natural's Not in It” | Tom Morello · Serj Tankian · Gang of Four
As co-writer or writer of all Gag of Four’s songs, Andy influenced generation after generation of musicians through his unique and much-emulated guitar style. Tom Morello told SPIN: “Andy Gill was one of a handful of artists in history who changed the way guitars are played, Gang of Four were just incendiary and completely groundbreaking with Andy’s confrontational, unnerving and sublime playing at the forefront.”
“His jagged plague-disco raptor-attack industrial-funk deconstructed guitar anti-hero sonics and fierce poetic radical intellect were hugely influential to me.”
The Problem of Leisure cover was created by Damien Hirst, a long-term Gang of Four aficionado. Andy chose the cover art himself from a selection of options offered by Hirst. It's featured on an awesome collection of merch and coloured vinyl that you can check out via the link below.
PRE-ORDER THE PROBLEM OF LEISURE: A CELEBRATION OF ANDY GILL & GANG OF FOUR.
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