GANG OF FOUR Gang Of Four 77–81 MATADOR/WARNERS

NOT for the first time in its history, Great Britain finds itself at a crossroads, pulled one way and another by opposing cultural and political forces. On one side stands an establishment dedicated to the consolidation of existing power; on the other, a movement to confront and atone for the more shameful aspects of the past, as a way of addressing them and moving forwards. Of course, Gang Of Four were there in 1979. As frontman Jon King sang on “Not Great Men”, the third track on their debut album Entertainment!: “The past lives on in your front room/The poor still weak, the rich still rule”. Sentimentally, semantically, sonically, it could have been written yesterday.