To Hell With Poverty!: A Class Act: Inside the Gang of Four | Jon King

"1979. Britain is fucked: 1.5 million people are out of work, doubling to 3 million by 1982; inflation soars to 12 per cent; the UK's interest rate is at an all-time high of 17 per cent; 40 per cent income tax from low earners, 90 per cent for the better off."

Leeds has many claims to fame - the birthplace of carbonated drinks, the location of the first moving images, the city that gave us jelly tots - but one strands out head and shoulders above the rest and remains largely (and inexplicably) unheralded, and that is the city where the GANG OF FOUR formed!

This brand new book by singer Jon King takes us from his roots in a South London slum to his place as lyricist, singer, musician and producer with iconic and influential post-punk band Gang of Four. This is brilliant stuff, with the city of Leeds often at its heart (there's even a photograph of the Fenton!) - playing live and taking on the right wing idiots, sharing space in dilapidated redbricks, late night eggburgers on Woodhouse Lane, and arthouse films at the Poly. Outside of Yorkshire, there's trip to CBGBs in NYC, supporting the Buzzcocks on tour, touring econo in the States, hanging out with Hell's Angels and much more.

A brilliant account of resistance, creation, freedom and fight, in a period beset by conflict, inequality, poverty, and the very real possibility of a one megaton bomb flattening the centre of Leeds.

Size: 241 x 165mm (hardcover with dustjacket)

Pages: 352

Publisher: Constable