"When I saw the Red Riding Quartet on television it felt incredibly true," agrees King of a period overshadowed by the Yorkshire Ripper, National Front violence and economic depredation. There was tangible fear and paranoia in the air." They were nurtured by academia in the first place, specifically the theory-heavy fine art department at Leeds University in the late 70s. Gill is flintier and more exacting, like a man who might return your essay with the words, "Really? Clarify" next to every paragraph. King is a garrulous enthusiast who is forever digressing, by way of analogy, into praise of Bob Dylan, Lady Gaga or the situationists. It feels a little like spending time with two rival lecturers from the same faculty. "That's what we talk about – what's the range of alternatives?" Where most political bands would say X is wrong, Gang of Four will ask: Is X wrong? Why is it wrong? Is Y even worse? "I think you can sense us investigating possibilities," says Gill. There's a sense of ideas being tossed back and forth, interrogated, and tested for weakness. The lyrics, like the blood, are a joint effort. "It's like, what do you want? Blood?" explains Gill. True to its knowing title (definitely the noun rather than the adjective), it's a handsome metal box filled with music, text, illustrations and even a sample of King and Gill's intermingled blood. Spread out on the coffee table in Gill's London apartment is the deluxe edition of Content, the pair's impressively sharp first album of new material since reuniting for live shows in 2004. "What I value about what we do is that there's these ideas we can have a conversation about, but then you go: 'What a fantastic gig,' and you're covered in sweat. "If you were to analyse the mix," says guitarist and producer Andy Gill, "there'd be 1.5% post-Marxist thought … " "And 20% Dr Feelgood," continues King.
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