The Gang Of Four Australian Tour 2014 has been postponed.
The influential post-punk group were scheduled for a run of national tour dates next month, performing their seminal 1979 album Entertainment! live to celebrate its 35th Anniversary.
But a statement from the British four-piece has announced that the band’s headline shows in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, and Perth, have been canned for the time being.
“Gang Of Four’s forthcoming Australian tour dates have been curtailed by some unforeseen family circumstances of a serious & personal nature,” reads the statement, which also appears on the group’s Facebook page.
“The decision has certainly not been taken lightly & we very much regret that we have to postpone the March tour. All tickets will be fully refunded & further tour dates will be rescheduled & announced soon,” it continues.
“Apologies to all who have purchased tickets & all the inconvenience caused & a huge, huge thank you to everyone for their continued support.” “Gang Of Four’s forthcoming Australian tour dates have been curtailed by some unforeseen family circumstances of a serious & personal nature.”
Founding member and guitarist Andy Gill revealed in a Tone Deaf interview that the band had “been working a lot on the live [show], and we’ve got a great new lighting person with projections… Our stage thing was quite shocking-new when we first arrived, a lot of white light…and the colours we had were very odd. It was a very dramatic stark look, and we kind of carry that on.”
The Gang Of Four Australian Tour was to celebrate the legacy of the band’s spiky 1979 debut album, which saw the group going on to influence countless artists; U2, R.E.M., and the Red Hot Chili Peppers all made their fandom known, right up to bands such as Franz Ferdinand, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and Bloc Party.
“I think when we set about Entertainment!… I was trying to figure out in my own mind about how music was going to develop and what it was I was knitting,” explains Gill, the band’s sole original member to have endured its many lineup changes and configurations across nearly four decades.
The band have also been working on a new album, the follow-up to 2011 LP Content, which is due for release later this year.
“The new record that we’re doing, that we’re bringing out in June, there [will be] various guest singers,” says Gill, along with current vocalist John ‘Gaoler’ Sterry, who is “singing on about half of it – It’s been really exciting. I feel musically we are stepping up a gear.”
Gang Of Four Australian Tour 2014
Wednesday 19th March – Corner Hotel, MelbourneTickets: www.cornerhotel.com.au
Thursday 20th March – Metro Theatre, SydneyTickets: www.ticketek.com.au
Saturday 22nd March – The HiFi, BrisbaneTickets: www.oztix.com.au
Sunday 23rd March – Capital, PerthTickets: www.oztix.com.au
