SPILL NEW MUSIC: “DAMAGED GOODS” BY IDLES OUT NOW | LATEST SINGLE TAKEN FROM ‘THE PROBLEM OF LEISURE: A CELEBRATION OF ANDY GILL AND GANG OF FOUR’

“DAMAGED GOODS” BY IDLES OUT NOW | LATEST SINGLE TAKEN FROM THE PROBLEM OF LEISURE: A CELEBRATION OF ANDY GILL AND GANG OF FOUR

GILL MUSIC

Gang of Four’s iconic song, “Damaged Goods,” gets a blistering makeover from British rock band IDLES and dropped as a single on May 28th ahead of the June 4, 2021 release of the album The Problem of Leisure: A celebration of Andy Gill and Gang of Four.

The Problem of Leisure is a double album of tracks written by Andy Gill and Gang of Four, all newly reinterpreted and recorded by artists whose own unique contributions to music were enriched by listening to Gang of Four. The album features songs from across Gang of Four’s 40-plus year career, each individually chosen by the artists’ who covered them.

IDLES say: “IDLES does not exist without Gang of Four. ‘Damaged Goods’ still sounds new and exciting after the millionth listen. We jumped at the chance to just play it, let alone record it. It was an honour, a joy and a privilege”

Pre-Order The Problem Of Leisure: A Celebration Of Andy Gill And Gang Of Four

Andy’s widow Catherine Mayer says:

“One of the last emails Andy ever sent set out his provisional album track listing. He wanted the album to open with IDLES’ version of ‘Damaged Goods’ because its attack and energy are simultaneously so very Gang of Four and so unmistakably IDLES that he thought it would make the perfect introduction to the project. Also he just loved it.”

After Andy’s death in February 2020, Catherine assembled a small team to complete The Problem of Leisure. The record had originally been conceived by Andy himself not as a post-mortem tribute, but to mark the 40th anniversary in 2019 of Gang Of Four’s extraordinary 1979 debut long player Entertainment! an album widely heralded as a classic (“the fifth best punk album of all time”: Rolling Stone magazine).

Andy had already revised that vision in the months before his death, after some artists chose tracks from different albums and periods. 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.

When Andy died, obituarists struggled to sum up his profound impact on music. He had co-founded Gang of Four and remained at the time of his death its only original member. As co-writer or writer of all the band’s songs and through his unmistakable and much emulated guitar style, Andy influenced generation after generation of musicians, and that effect was amplified by his work as a composer and producer. This album speaks to that impact and influence.

The final 20 track double album features an extraordinary roll call of global talent, with artists from seven different countries and four continents, and demonstrates the breadth and scale of Andy and Gang of Four’s influence.

The album’s brilliant artwork was created by Damien Hirst, a long-term Gang of Four aficionado. Andy chose the cover art from a selection of options provided by the artist.

The album campaign started with the release of a new version of “Natural’s Not In It” by Tom Morello & Serj Tankian, on January 8, 2021. This was followed by 3D’s updated (Redux) version of “Where the Nightingale Sings” on February 12th, which featured vocals from alt rock duo Nova Twins and was co-produced by Robert Del Naja from Massive Attack (as 3D) and Andy Gill. Singles by Warpaint (“Paralysed”), Helmet (“In the Ditch”) and Herbert Grönemeyer (“I Love a Man in a Uniform”) have been released subsequently, showcasing the breadth of artists who have contributed to the album.

The album is available to pre-order now in a variety of double vinyl, two CD and cassette formats from all usual retail outlets worldwide. The deluxe vinyl format, “Dogluxe” is only available from the Gang of Four website, gangoffour.uk/store. All formats feature different versions of the artwork from Damien Hirst.  The album will be released on the Gill Music label on June 4, 2021 and is distributed by Ingrooves.

The new website for the album – www.theproblemofleisure.com – contains more information about the project including the stories behind the connections of many of the contributing artists to Andy Gill and Gang of Four.

Various Artists
The Problem of Leisure: A Celebration of Andy Gill and Gang of Four
(Gill Music)
Release Date: June 4, 2021

IDLES Links

Gang Of Four Links

Main Image Credit: Damien Hirst, Dog with Bone, 2017 © Damien Hirst and Science Ltd. | Background Photo Credit: Tom Ham

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