Gang of Four have announced another new EP, Anti Hero, set for release on July 17. The new EP features the late Andy Gill, who died earlier this year. The track, “Forever Starts Now” which is included in the EP, has a fun feel to it with the flow and longevity throughout the track. Proceeds from the EP benefit Guy’s and St Thomas NHS Foundation Trust, the English hospital network where Gill had been under care for a respiratory illness in his final days.
In addition to the new songs “Forever Starts Now” and “Day Turns to Night,” which vocalist John Sterry wrote after Gill’s death, the EP also includes new versions of Gang of Four’s songs “Change the Locks” and “Glass.” Anti Hero is the second set of recordings from Gill after his death, following the February EP, This Heaven Gives Me Migraines.
The band Gang of Four posted a statement about his death, “This is so hard for us to write, but our great friend and Supreme Leader has died today. Andy’s final tour in November was the only way he was ever really going to bow out; with a Stratocaster around his neck, screaming with feedback and deafening the front row. His uncompromising artistic vision and commitment to the cause meant that he was still listening to mixes for the upcoming record, whilst planning the next tour from his hospital bed.”
Gang of Four released the EP, This Heaven Gives Me Migraine in late February. In a press release, Gill’s wife Catherine Mayer shared, “From the hospital, Andy continued to give final notes on mixes of music that he looked forward to releasing. Since his death, I have been working with the band to fulfill his vision. The only change we have made is to include on the EP two brief recordings of Andy speaking, both, in different ways, essence of Andy.”
Fellow band member John “Gaoler” Sterry added about the album, “This collection of songs was recorded just before Andy died and it was his intention to get these out – to represent the way we played them on tour, late last year. All three songs were recorded in Andy’s home studio in London and there’s a fly-on-the-wall intimacy to this EP; from the song selection to the snippets of spoken word.”
Photo Credit: Boston Lynn Schulz
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