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Andy Gill Has Died

Started by Lisa Jesusandmarychain, February 01, 2020, 05:30:55 PM

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Lisa Jesusandmarychain

Yer man from Gang Of Four on guitar, last remaining founder member, not the NME 80s era journo ( he died last year).

No more Andy Gills.

sevendaughters

Easily the guitarist I ripped off the most for many years.

Pauline Walnuts

I feel guilty for saying all those terrible things about 'What Happened Next' now.

earl_sleek

Gotta be one of the most inventive guitarists in popular music - at least in Gang of Four's prime period? Certainly one of my favourites, and Entertainment is one of my top albums of all time. Saw Gang of Four just once, just after Content was released, and Gill was in great form.

Head Gardener


non capisco

Entertainment is an album that will not age and will sound as vital and exciting as the day it was released no matter when you play it.

buttgammon

Quote from: non capisco on February 01, 2020, 06:50:43 PM
Entertainment is an album that will not age and will sound as vital and exciting as the day it was released no matter when you play it.

Absolutely - there aren't many albums I come back to as often as that, but it never loses its lustre. That's in no small part to his guitar playing, one of the most extraordinary noises in music. I'm playing it now and little things like the breakdown at the end of 'Guns Before Butter' are still mind blowing after hundreds, maybe even thousands, of listens.

jamiefairlie

Shit. That scratchy guitar was so influential on so many bands. They were great live, saw them in 80 and 81 and he was a really dynamic presence.

Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth


Inspector Norse

Quote from: jamiefairlie on February 01, 2020, 07:08:09 PM
Shit. That scratchy guitar was so influential on so many bands.

Yeah, they might not be the most accessible or popular of the post-punk crowd but that guitar sound has had an enormous influence.

RIP

DrGreggles


samadriel

God, I'm really glad now that I got to see him and the others play Entertainment and a bunch of other stuff last year. I was just thinking how vital and non-decrepit they sounded, like they'd have a squillion years left to rock out; I guess that's not the case. RIP.

I must fess up that I thought Gill and the NME writer were the same person.

sirhenry

The first time I met him he threw a brickbat at me. Happy days...

All Surrogate

Gang Of Four - He'd Send In The Army ('Urgh! A Music War')

Gill's playing, non-playing, movement and expression in this performance astonished me when I first saw it, and still does to be honest. It epitomises intensity.

Bingo Fury

This is such a huge and unexpected shock, I'm really cut-up about it. Entertainment was one of my favourite albums in my teens - I liked to suss people out by playing them "At Home He's a Tourist" and seeing how they reacted to its manic, choppy guitar - and its lustre hasn't faded with the years. The one and only time I got together with some other guys for a jam in a proper rehearsal room I hadn't a clue what to do and just winged it totally, and was complimented by the drummer afterwards on my Andy Gill-style approach. I didn't buy Gang of Four albums religiously or anything, but sporadically followed what they were doing, and loved how Gill's personality was imprinted on every riff he played. The fact that stadium bands like the Red Hot Chili Peppers held this cult band in such high regard gave me a warm glow too. For me, Go4 and Magazine were high water marks of post-punk and it's very sad that both their innovative guitarists are now gone.


Jockice

Quote from: Satchmo Distel on February 02, 2020, 09:25:20 AM
I must fess up that I thought Gill and the NME writer were the same person.

There was also a John Gill who worked for Sounds around the same time. Quite confusing.

Twonty Gostelow

Bumping this to tell anyone who doesn't already know, Andy Gill's wife has a book out next week about him and her thoughts about bereavement and death. https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08BWNHLVC/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0

She and others think it highly likely that Covid was the cause of death, but obviously that wouldn't have been in people's minds at the time. He'd been in China a few weeks before.