Born on 8 June: Jon King, the ever-defiant voice of Gang of Four

Co-founder of Gang of Four with guitarist Andy Gill, he was born in Southwark (London) in 1955

As is often the case, artistic ambitions blossom on school benches. This was also true for Jon King, who was often found in the "art room" (the haven for creative minds) at his school in Sevenoaks, a venerable institution founded in 1432. Alongside forging a firm friendship with Andy Gill, guitarist for Gang of Four, he also crossed paths with future members of the Mekons (who describe themselves as a post-punk art collective) and director Paul Greengrass. All of them were still in short trousers, or nearly so. The first seeds were planted. Jon King and Andy Gill would see them grow at Leeds University, where they continued their studies. By merging music, art, and politics, Gang of Four established a unique style from their very first three-track single, "Damaged Goods", released in 1978 on the small Scottish label Fast Products. With its cutting guitar, syncopated vocals, and disenchanted lyrics, this song lays bare a breakup, reducing it, in some sense, to a soulless, capitalist transaction.

Clearly, the band's two main creative forces were influenced by Marxist thinkers on one hand, and French New Wave artists like Jean-Luc Godard on the other. A trip to New York together in 1976 was also pivotal, allowing them to discover the emerging punk scene at CBGB's, the Big Apple's iconic rock club. There, they first encountered the Talking Heads, Patti Smith, and the Ramones.

Formed in 1977 with Dave Allen on bass and Hugo Burnham on drums, Gang of Four quickly gained a reputation for their unique mix of punk, funk, and social critique. Their debut album, "Entertainment!" (1979), managed the feat of being both danceable and thought-provoking. Still a bit rough round the edges, alongside the hypnotic "Damaged Goods", tracks like "At Home He’s A Tourist" and "Love Like Anthrax" have a razor-sharp edge that hits the listener like a strangely invigorating punch. Gang of Four was intent on waking people up—and did so even more brilliantly with "Solid Gold" (1981), a second album considered their masterpiece thanks to "Paralysed" and "What We All Want".

Although tensions eventually arose after their fourth album, "Hard" (1983), leading to a separation of several years, Jon King still describes their creative dynamic as complementary. "We were very different, but we complemented each other. In fact, we often made each other laugh," he says with a hint of nostalgia.

Since the irreplaceable Andy Gill's passing in February 2020, Jon King is now the sole leader of the band. Their tenth studio album, "Happy Now", released in 2019, sounds almost like a testament. And the group continues to press on society's flaws—with tracks like "Alpha Male", for example, while "Ivanka (My Name's On It)" takes aim between the lines at the rampant nepotism under Donald Trump. "I've always wanted my lyrics to mean something in the hope of, perhaps, changing the world. Even if just a little…" There's nothing wrong with dreaming of a better world!

(MH with meliStéphane Soupart - Photo: © Etienne Tordoir)

Photo: Jon King of Gang of Four on stage at Ancienne Belgique in Brussels (Belgium), 25 June 1982