Farewell to the revolution: Gang of Four to embark on final North American tour

Gang of Four, the iconic British post-punk band formed in 1976, has announced a farewell tour in 2025, marking their final North American journey. Fittingly, it will be called "The Long Goodbye" tour (not to be confused with the tour by Deep Purple, of course). Known for their fusion of punk rock with funk and dance rhythms, Gang of Four set the stage for generations of alternative rock and post-punk acts.

Starting April 20 at the Crystal Ballroom in Somerville, Massachusetts, this tour will celebrate the band’s legacy and the 45th anniversary of their 1979 debut album, Entertainment! — a groundbreaking work that established the group’s reputation for socially charged lyrics and percussive, minimalist, often experimental sound.

Fans can expect Gang of Four to perform Entertainment! in its entirety, followed by a second set filled with fan-favorite tracks and hits (so to speak).

"After 45 years, the band will tour North America for the very last time," reads a statement on social media, emphasizing the commemorative nature of the tour. Tickets for all 25 tour stops across the United States and Canada went on sale at on Friday, October 4, but there's still a chance you might get tickets at some locations.

More on Gang of Four

Originally from Leeds, England, Gang of Four was founded by Jon King on vocals, the late Andy Gill on guitar, Dave Allen on bass, and Hugo Burnham on drums. The band had many other members over the years, including Albert King and Talking Heads bassist Busta "Cherry" Jones and David Bowie bassist Gail Ann Dorsey. As pioneers of the post-punk sound, they used edgy, driving beats and stripped-down guitar riffs to convey politically engaged messages while creating moody atmospheres not entirely unlike some of the great "krautrock" bands.

Their music was raw and confrontational, with a style that critiqued modern culture and politics — a factor that earned them a unique place in music history. In many ways, they echoed the sentiments John Lennon set forth in "Imagine," which get under the skin of right-wing commentator Ben Shapiro: "Imagine there’s no countries, it isn’t hard to do. Nothing to kill or die for, and no religion too. Imagine all the people, living life in peace..."

As Gill lamented in a 2019 interview: "I don't think anybody thought we'd arrived, that we'd got there yet, but I do think people thought the world would become less right wing, less sexist, there would be more rights for more people and the wealth gap would shrink. And of course this is not what happened at all. It just tells you that history doesn't move in a line, it can go in a big circle."

(Gill died in 2020 — on the bright side, at least he didn't have to witness January 6th, 2021.)

Recognized for their influence on genres ranging from indie rock to dance-punk, Gang of Four’s AllMusic biography describes them as "one of the most influential and groundbreaking bands to rise from the British punk scene in the late ’70s." In their nearly five-decade career, Gang of Four released ten studio albums, beginning with Entertainment! in 1979 and concluding with Happy Now in 2019, which review aggregator Metacritic says received "generally favorable reviews."

Discography highlights

They also released live albums, compilations, and EPs. Their 1982 single "I Love a Man in a Uniform," from the album Songs of the Free, remains one of their most recognized tracks in the United States.

Notably, Songs of the Free was reissued by Matador Records on October 25, 2024, featuring a remastered edition from the original Abbey Road tapes, which captures the album’s vivid sound. Several of Gang of Four’s tracks, including "Anthrax," "Damaged Goods," "To Hell With Poverty," and "At Home He's a Tourist," have become signature songs of the post-punk movement, as almost anti-anthems.

Other notable songs, such as "He’d Send in the Army" and "Cheeseburger," further showcase their commitment to addressing social and political issues through music with an uncompromising sound that many conventional music listeners just wouldn't "get."

So, how influential have they been socially? Political scientist Ray Pratt observed that "No music alone can organize one’s ability to invest affectively in the world, one can note powerful contributions of music to temporary emotional states." At the very least, it's well-known that Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello was influenced by the band, both politically and musically.

As one of the last tours in their illustrious career, the "Long Goodbye Tour" offers fans one final chance to experience Gang of Four’s influential sound and message live.

The question of commercial success in left-leaning political bands

Of course, Gang of Four, much like Rage Against the Machine, have long been accused of selling out by playing for major labels. One website addresses this critique, noting how some will ask, "Do you really think that dyed-in-the-wool Marxists would have signed recording contracts with EMI and Warner Brothers?"

However, their idea was to at least put some ideas out into the ether...and speaking of "Ether":

In any case, the band's journey is near completion, and this farewell tour will never resolve all of the issues society faces. It is, at the end of the day, just a rock tour. Still, it's not like they have done nothing.

The tour not only underscores the band’s legacy but also pays homage to their distinct role in shaping punk and post-punk music since the late 1970s. They never totally changed the world, but they at least voiced their opinions, which is what art is actually supposed to do much of the time.