To Hell with Poverty!: A Class Act: Inside the Gang of Four

by Jon King

A poignant and dramatic memoir from the lead singer and songwriter of the legendary British underground band Gang of Four. 


TO HELL WITH POVERTY! documents Jon King’s story from a South London slum and impoverished working-class background to international success as core musician, lyricist, writer, and producer in the legendary postpunk/funk band Gang of Four. The reader is taken on an episodic and kaleidoscopic journey full of adventures from childhood to the end of Gang of Four’s “golden period” in 1984. Thrown off the hit British TV show Top of the Pops; beaten by police at an anti-Nazi rally; being at the heart of the UK postpunk movement in the 1970s; fraternizing with Hells Angels and other “undesirables”; supported by bands like R.E.M. and playing with the likes of the Police and Talking Heads—King’s times with Gang of Four are rich with stories.


Gang of Four’s Entertainment! LP is consistently ranked as one of the greatest debut albums of all time and continues to inspire new generations of musicians today. The band has influenced numerous bands, from the Red Hot Chili Peppers and INXS, to 2024-era hip-hop giants Run the Jewels, whose hit song “The Ground Below” is built on samples from the Gang of Four’s song “Ether.” Gang of Four have been championed by the likes of Flea, Sofia Coppola, Massive Attack, Damien Hirst, Greil Marcus, and many more.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, History

336 pages, Hardcover

Published April 15, 2025

Reviews

[Neve]

BIG UP SEVENOAKS!!

[jess mak · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked how Jon King formatted this as a bunch of short memory snips. Cool guy and cool book. Dragged a bit towards the end but that’s probably because once he talked about making Entertainment! I kinda lost interest. Nice read though

[Frank · Rating 5 out of 5]

OK, so I'm like a Go4 uber-fan. One of my favorite bands since I saw them live in the 1980s - and couldn't hear properly for four days afterwards! 🔊😮 As in real life, Jon King jumps around a lot with engaging anecdotes of his and the band's story, weaving a tapestry of "What a Ride!" and "How Great the Time!" I think Go4's great strength and appeal is to grab potent one-liners that resonate with commentary regarding Capitalism, Governments, Chasing Money, Sex, Women's Liberation, Existentialism, and Conflict. Decades later, still meaningful, like the song "He'd Send in the Army!" wrt. some of Donald Trump's second-term focus! 😲

[Carole · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this book through LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program.
The voice in this book is fantastic. The personality of Jon King carries the reader from the first page to the last, seeing tragedy and joy from one human perspective. It’s an interesting mix of telling it straight and obviously concealing things, but it doesn’t feel dishonest, perhaps because this mix is precisely what it’s like to exist as a person. You can’t see what you can’t see, and when you tell a story you can only tell it from your perspective, even if you have more information when you tell it than you did at the time.
King’s account of growing up was striking. His voice lends a starkness to the life he lived as a child. The way class and mistreatment (but also love, care and kindness) shaped his childhood are apparent and foreshadow, in a way, how his life shapes up later.
I enjoyed the pacing of the book, because the rather thorough telling of his childhood explains a lot about how he functioned in the band, and what his goals and intellectual proclivities are.
As he enters into the first years with the band, he’s enjoyably explicit about how joyful the music making is. The narration style allows him to describe hardship and disappointment at the same time he was experiencing some fantastic creative years, without glossing over it to make it seem too romantic. He was convincing enough, however, that it inspired me to get back on the keyboard.
It’s hard to read the later chapters of the book, wherein the band falls apart, after seeing how it could flourish with all present and working together, but it’s clear that well-oiled creative machine couldn’t exist for very long, and wasn’t that well-oiled while it was working. The oddest part, I have to say, was the somewhat tender In Memoriam to Andy Gill, after the last third of the book. I won’t say more at risk of saying too much.
I’d highly recommend this book, even to those like me who were unfamiliar with Gang of Four. It’s a window on an experience that is compelling to read.

[China · Rating 5 out of 5]

To Hell With Poverty! would make a great companion piece to Nonbinary by Genesis P-Orridge -- King and P-Orridge were five years apart, generally peers, and both books are beautifully written accounts of growing up in postwar England and building bands out of philosophies on art or politics during the '70s. The language here is excellent. Wouldn't be surprised if it had been dictated, it's so conversational and vivid around places and times, though I was caught off guard every time King pulled a Clueless and came out with "gross!" or "as if!" I'd love to read Andy Gill's account (if only), because this book paints Gill as a gross teenager, an indulgent drinker, someone who preferred the flashy lifestyle to the political messaging, and someone who really didn't know how to play any music but his own. Whereas King himself doesn't come off so badly here. But King pays tribute to Gill at book's end, makes it clear he loved him like a brother, which repaints my perspective and suggests he isn't trying to paint Gill as a bad guy but rather look at the big picture plainly and without rose-colored revisionism.

I'd read 300 more pages of this, easily. And given where the book ends, I almost wish he had written a few more chapters to cover the band's reunions, as well as the handoff of the band from Andy Gill after Gill's passing, and the recruitment of names like David Pajo, Gail Greenwood and Ted Leo in the last couple of years. But I also get the feeling there were so many rough spots in the band, given how King describes Gill here and there, and ending the story at the early/mid-'80s allows him to dip out somewhat gracefully without having to apologize much for Gang of Four's later albums or phases. They got it right when they decided to celebrate the old stuff, which is still so vibrant.

[Jim Dooley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very fun, and funny, memoir. Jon King delivers numerous engaging stories about growing up in Kemsing and attending (along with some future Mekons and filmmakers) Sevenoaks School. The future Gang of Four vocalist describes a less-than-wealthy monochrome upbringing that is enlivened by snatches of popular culture and an inspiring school art department. There are also many telling vignettes detailing the jobs (from farming to a paper sack factory) he had prior to attending university. These (often amusing) accounts explore an area rarely covered in the Gang of Four story. A ‘class act’ indeed. King also supplies a revealing snapshot of his times at university in Leeds and his complex, on-again-off-again, relationship with Andy Gill. Fans of Gang of Four will be fascinated by how King contrasts himself, both in terms of temperament and artistic leanings, with Gill. Much of the material here makes for a good companion to the (somewhat more academically-inclined) song descriptions contained within the Gang of Four 77-81 boxed set. As for the anecdotes about the band’s activities, they are absurd, touching and farcical – tales that are positively Spinal Tapian at times. The Hard-era crazed and decadent tales of being in Los Angeles and Miami stand in stark contrast to King’s austere upbringing. In spite of the weighty topics touched on here, King never loses sight of the ludicrous and humorous nature of being in a band. In this way the singer seems firmly tied to one of his key influences - the Situationist International. Much like King’s electrically-charged performances the writing in To Hell With Poverty! is riveting, charismatic, assertive but always with a twinkle in the eye and a tongue planted ever-so-slightly in cheek. – Jim Dooley

[Nora · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this was great! Super interesting, no boring bits. Basically told in chronological order, nothing fancy, with a lot of short chapters that are vignettes or thematic. The early part in a lot of memoirs, the part about the ancestors and childhood, are often a bit of a snooze to me, but I really enjoyed reading about King's childhood in 1960s working class London. The scene in Leeds and all the jobs he had at the bakery, brick factory, paper bag factory etc, and his travels. Then everything about Gang of Four was funny and interesting--terrific stories! As I was reading along I was looking up lots of British words and phrases (like slap, kicked into touch, brown bread, the old bill, how's your father, tea leafs) but this wasn't necessary; it was clear what they all meant from context except something like donkey jacket where I needed a picture. But I just wanted to know were they Cockney rhyming slang or from rugby or what.

My favorite Gang of Four song is I Love A Man in a Uniform and I always wondered how does the snare sound so good, and this question is answered in the book!

The ending of this book did surprise me. As the pages began to dwindle, I was expecting it to be a couple chapters like this: short synopsis of the last 40 years, some nice words about wife and children if any, how sad when Andy Gill died, getting the band back together. Instead
it takes us up through the early '80s when Gang of Four is circling the drain and describes how a crooked manager rips the band off (a million dollars or more!) and the band splits up, the end! No happy ending. Sequel?

I think any casual reader who is interested in music or the late 20th century would like this book. I do not think you need to be a Gang of Four fan. I gratefully received a free copy of this book from the publishers in exchange for an honest review, via librarything. (PS--get your ARCS from librarything. I never ever win a Goodreads giveaway but it's more openhanded at librarything.)

[Barbara Bryant · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gang of Four was an essential part of my life in early 1980s Seattle, and I enjoy introducing people to their still-relevant musicality, lyrics, and politics! "To Hell with Poverty!" is a spare, evocative backstory of those times, of how GoF came together and fell apart. I'm a year younger than Jon King, so these snippets vividly bring back to life the 1960s to early 1980s.

And now I finally understand how the travesty of "Hard" could be released. I wish I had kept "Songs of the Free," but I cranked up my vinyl "Solid Gold" again today so I could hear Jon King's voice as I finished this compelling memoir.

[Miranda Summerset · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5 STARS! Ever wonder what it feels like to be in the middle of a band from start to finish? This book puts you right there with Gang of Four from a singers perspective. Its funny, raw, vulnerable, & insanely British & I enjoyed every page of it. Jon is incredibly smart & the way he describes things is insanely descriptive & rich. Loved the format & style of this too. It's a memoir, but also the tale of buddies getting into a mad business together & all that ensues. Crazy story, a true must read!
Thank you to Akashic Press for the review copy.

[Joe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cool stories, very much in the brief-vignette style of a lot of recent musician memoirs I’ve read and totally readable throughout. Heavily weighted toward early life, even pre-Gang of Four, and I didn’t mind that as much as I thought I would, but maybe would’ve appreciated a little more detail on that golden first-album era.

[Sonya · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful recollection from one of the greatest frontmen there ever was. It’s not just the story of Jon and Gang Of Four, it’s the story of growing up in Leeds, post-punk, success, failure and mostly - for standing for what you believe in no matter the cost.

[Cooper Renner · Rating 4 out of 5]

King’s life up through the first dissolution of Gang of Four in the ‘80s. Frank, funny, no holding back.

[Killian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable read, King's writing style is spiky, like the band's music

[Shannon Heaton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great telling of the early life of the author and the formation of his band, right up until it collapsed in the early 80s. Do I want more? Hell yes, I want more! Very readable.