Andy Gill – guitarist, producer Born January 1, 1956; died February 1, 2020 Andy Gill, who has died aged 64, was one of the most influential and inventive guitarists of his generation. As co-founder of Gang of Four, his abrasive and metallic guitar shards captured the urgency of the punk era, yet retained a skewed funkiness that suggested dance music as an incendiary and oppositionist force. Offset by the serious intent of songs such as At Home He’s A Tourist and To Hell with Poverty, Gang of Four gave the anything-goes eclecticism that punk opened up an extra edge. The band’s debut release, the Damaged Goods EP, released on Edinburgh’s Fast Product label in October 1978, was one of the earliest records now regarded as post-punk. The original Gang of Four’s mould-breaking sound forged by Gill with singer Jon King, bass player Dave Allen and drummer Hugo Burnham eventually gave rise to a new wave of bands such as The Rapture. This in part inspired the quartet to reconvene i
An archive of arts writing by Neil Cooper. Effete No Obstacle.