In episode 30 of the “How I Library” podcast, show host and I Love Libraries editor Phil Morehart speaks with musician and author Jon King from the legendary post-punk band Gang of Four about his new memoir, “To Hell with Poverty! A Class Act: Inside the Gang of Four.”
The band Gang of Four burst out of England in the years following the first punk rock explosion in the late 1970s with a unique, angular sound that owed as much to funk, dub, art, politics, and philosophy as it did to its punk contemporaries.
Gang of Four created a sound unlike any other the time that would influence REM, Nirvana, NIN, Afghan Whigs, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, St. Vincent, Rage Against the Machine, Sleater Kinney, and countless other bands.
At the forefront of Gang of Four was Jon King, the band’s vocalist and lyricist, whose memoir, “To Hell with Poverty! A Class Act: Inside the Gang of Four,” charts King’s youth and the band’s volatile trajectory, as well as the socio-political environments and circumstances that birthed British punk and Gang of Four.
King joins the show to discuss his book and its writing, the history of Gang of Four, life in post-WWII Britain, the birth of punk and post-punk in England, art, philosophy, book bans, and how he libraries.
“How I Library” is available for download or streaming on Soundcloud, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Or listen below.
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