Gang of Four performs at The Chapel in San Francisco on Feb. 9, 2019. Gary Chancer/STAFF.

This story originally appeared in the Oakland Tribune.

Thirteen years have passed since seminal post-punk rockers Gang of Four released new material. The Gang’s void has been filled by a new generation of bands that have taken up the sound made famous by guitarist Andy Gill.

Gill’s abrasive, angular chord progressions have influenced Franz Ferdinand, The Futureheads, Bloc Party and scores of bands since the Gang released “Entertainment!” in 1979. 

“People work backwards to get to the Gang of Four now,” Gill said in a recent telephone chat. “Some of these bands have done us a favor in a sense.”

But the lack of new material doesn’t mean Gill and singer/songwriter Jon King disappeared. Gang of Four released a compilation album in 2005 and have reunited on several occasions. The current incarnation of the band, which includes a new rhythm section, will headline this weekend’s Download Festival at Shoreline Amphitheatre.

“A lot of people who have seen us years ago and who have seen us recently think (the music) is even more powerful now than ever,” Gill said. “I think it’s better than it was in 1980.”

King, Gill, bassist Dave Allen and drummer Hugo Burnham came together in 1977 in England. The singer and guitarist were the creative forces in the band and shared a neo-Marxist way of thought that influenced their music from the beginning.

Their first EP, “Damaged Goods,” in 1978, as well as a string of appearances on a popular English radio program and a history of wild live shows made the Gang famous. 

Two more highly successful albums followed — “Entertainment!”: “Solid Gold,” in 1981 and 1983’s “Songs of the Free.” Armed with radical political thoughts and King’s declamatory speech delivery, the Gang tackled the issues of economy, media and war.

Allen left the band in 1982 and the Gang’s fourth album, 1984’s “Hard failed to reach the success of the first three. Burnham left and the band called it quits.

A few more years passed, and then a funny thing began to happen in the late ’80s and early ’90s — bands such as R.E.M., Rage Against the Machine and Red Hot Chili Peppers came out to cite the Gang as a major influence.

“It seemed to come out the blue, really,” Gill said. “It wasn’t an obvious evolution. Suddenly everybody sounded like me, and it’s kind of funny.”

Gill and King reunited as Gang of Four in 1991 and released two collections and two new studio albums. Gill, meanwhile, went on to produce for the Chili Peppers, Michael Hutchence and others.

After a few more years, the Gang’s influence again began to be felt in the music of Franz Ferdinand, The Young Knives, The Rapture, and many others.

“For the most part, bands have taken a lot of what we were doing and fitted it to their particular agenda,” Gill said. “In most cases, they’ve made a poppier version.”

It was never the band’s goal to seem smarter than their fans or be experts in the topics they sing about.

“We’ve never tried to seem like clever guys or bookworms,” Gill said. “We’ve tried to steer clear of that because it’s not really where we’re at. But it’s amazing how dumb some music is.”

It’s easier for other bands to copy the “funky and angular Andy Gill thing.” But most bands still don’t approach the political connotation of Gang of Four.

“One of the things about Gang of Four is the dialogue within the song; the way we explore ideas by having Jon sing something, and then I’ll sing something which comes from a completely different perspective,” Gill said. “It’s kind of a critique of what he says.”

Again spurred on by a renewed interest in their music, the Gang of Four original lineup came together in 2004 and released “Return the Gift,” a disc of new recordings of early material.

Burnham, who had by that time become an academic on the U.S. East Coast, knew from the outset that he could only be involved in the band for a couple of years and left again in 2006 to get back to teaching. He was replaced by 39-year-old Mark Heaney, who has played with The Klaxons and Howie Day.

Allen left the band suddenly in May to spend more time with his family, Gill said. The Gang called in two bassist friends to fill in, Thomas McNiece and Gail Ann Dorsey.

Since January, Gang of Four has focused its attention on new material. Gill, now 52, said he and King, 53, now have more to write about than ever.

“We continue to have a lot of things to say about what’s going on in the world, what goes on in our lives and in other people’s lives,” he said. “We’re not 21-year-olds anymore, but I think we’ve got an incredibly rich and interesting world that continues to inform the music.”

Fans can expect much from the Gang in the short term, he said. A single, “Second Life,” was released on iTunes late last month. Three weeks before the Download show, Gill was mixing the next song, which will be called “Who Am I.”

“This one goes off the scale on the pop-ometer,” he said.

For the time being, the band will release a song every five to six weeks, he said. An album will eventually follow. The new material will be different yet familiar.

“I think they all key in to different areas of what Gang of Four has done in the past; from quite abrasive and tough to pop music,” he said. “Those elements don’t go away.”

Follow editor Roman Gokhman at Twitter.com/RomiTheWriter.