Gang Of Four Loses Its Rhythm Section Again

Bassist Dave Allen and drummer Hugo Burnham have left Gang Of Four, once again transforming the band that recorded 1979’s Entertainment! and 1981’s Solid Gold into the band that recorded 1991’s Mall and 1995’s Shrinkwrapped. The split sound amicable enough (Burnham had already skipped out on the band’s 2007 live shows and studio work), but anyone who saw one of their searing live shows following the 2005 reunion knows what a bummer this is.

Allen says, “At the beginning of April, I decided that I could no longer continue to be a member of Gang of Four. My ability to give 100% to the band is limited and I feel that if I can’t do so, then I shouldn’t continue. As I expand my research and thinking about contemporary music distribution on Pampelmoose.com, and as I focus on online technology and social networking at Nemo Design here in Portland, I find myself conflicted about how the band’s new music should be released. To retain any credibility for Pampelmoose.com about what the future of music distribution will look like, I have to move on and not hold back Jon and Andy’s music plans.

Burnham writes, “It was a great couple of years of intermittently reminding people old and new, far and wide just how powerful the original four of us were together. Age only increased our power and focus onstage, and it was a rare pleasure to work with the original band once again. Being in a band requires handling the business side of it too, and that became boring and the constant travel became debilitating. I am soon to start my Doctorate, as well as broadening my teaching at more than one college here in Massachusetts, so my free time has become increasingly limited, making it difficult to be involved with them going forward.

I’ve been trying to find a way to explain how integral the rhythm section was to Gang Of Four’s sound, but I think a live clip would do a better job.

Allen and Burnham exit Gang Of Four [Pampelmoose] Gang Of Four – To Hell With Poverty (TV Live) [Youtube]