Tom Morello And Serj Tankian Have Covered Gang Of Four

Following the passing of guitarist Andy Gill in February, Brit punk legends Gang Of Four have announced The Problem Of Leisure, a star-studded tribute album to be released on May 14 next year. In an Instagram post, the band proudly declared the record to be “The dog’s bollocks”, showed off the artwork by friend Damien Hirst, and revealed the first musicians involved: Tom Morello and Serj Tankian, who have taken on Natural’s Not In It, which will be out on January 1, Andy’s birthday.

“Andy Gill was one of a handful of artists in history who changed the way guitars are played,” Tom Morello said in a statement. “His band Gang of Four were just incendiary and completely groundbreaking with Andy’s confrontational, unnerving and sublime playing at the forefront. His jagged plague-disco raptor-attack industrial-funk deconstructed guitar anti-hero sonics and fierce poetic radical intellect were hugely influential to me.”

“Everybody who grew up with Gang of Four in their lives can remember how mind-blowing and forward-thinking and filled with creative energy it was at the time and guess what? It still is now,” says Damien Hirst. “It’s art. Art that’s reaching out of this world yet somehow still down to earth. It’s so great to be involved with this release and to see and hear a new generation of musicians paying tribute to Andy Gill’s incredible music. My artwork ‘Dog with Bone,’ which Andy picked for the cover from a few ideas I had, is from a new series of giant pipe cleaner animals based on little ones made in my studio by kids. I think he wanted this work for the cover because it’s new and unexpected and in your face and hard not to like, they make adults feel like children and Andy always wanted to celebrate that.”

READ THIS: Andy Gill: A Post-Punk Visionary