NEW LP
New sealed copy. 2019 reissue.
Gang of Four's debut album, Entertainment!, was released in September 1979 by EMI Records internationally and Warner Bros. Records in North America. Co-produced by Jon King and Andy Gill along with manager Rob Warr, the album draws heavily on punk rock while incorporating funk, reggae, and dub influences. King's lyrics were influenced by Situationism, the work of Michel Foucault and Jacques Lacan, feminism, and Marx's theory of alienation, addressing themes including commodification, proletarian life, and the subversion of traditional love song tropes.
The album's cover artwork, designed by King, shows Situationist International influence with processed images of an "Indian" and "cowboy" shaking hands, their faces reduced to stereotypical skin colors, accompanied by text about exploitation. "At Home He's a Tourist" reached number 58 on the UK Singles Chart, though a planned Top of the Pops performance was cancelled when the band refused to change the lyric "rubbers" to "rubbish."
Entertainment! became a seminal post-punk album and received widespread acclaim. Rolling Stone's David Fricke called it "the best debut album by a British band – punk or otherwise – since the original English release of The Clash in 1977." NME ranked it the fifth best album of 1979, and it appeared at number 273 on Rolling Stone's 2020 list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Kurt Cobain listed it among his 50 favorite albums, while Flea of Red Hot Chili Peppers said it "completely changed the way [he] looked at rock music."
TRACKLIST:
A1 Ether
A2 Natural's Not In It
A3 Not Great Men
A4 Damaged Goods
A5 Return The Gift
A6 Guns Before Butter
B1 I Found That Essence Rare
B2 Glass
B3 Contract
B4 At Home He's A Tourist
B5 5.45
B6 Love Like Anthrax
