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To Hell with Poverty!

A Class Act: Inside the Gang of Four

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To Hell with Poverty!

By: Jon King
Narrated by: Jon King
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About this listen

 'Entertaining and revealing . . . it offers a deeply human portrait of its narrator, a creative force shaped by chaos, resilience and an unrelenting drive to make art. It is a personal and, at times, harrowing journey which provides insight into a band that contributed to the evolution of rock music and inspired generations' Louder Than War

'To Hell With Poverty! captures something of [Gang of Four's] essence rare: fractious, discordant, thrilling' MOJO

From Jon King, the legendary frontman of iconic post-punk band, Gang of Four, comes a memoir to remember.

To Hell With Poverty! documents Jon's story from a south London slum and working-class background to international success as core musician, lyricist, writer, and producer in acclaimed post-punk/funk band, Gang of Four. Made up of charming vignettes, the reader is taken on an episodic journey full of raucous adventures from Jon's childhood and teenage years, to the height of Gang of Four's success in the seventies and eighties.

Thrown off of Top of the Pops, truncheoned by police at an anti-Nazi rally, being at the heart of the Leeds music scene and the UK postpunk movement, fraternising with Hell's Angels and other undesirables, supported by bands like R.E.M. and playing with the Buzzcocks, there's no doubt King's time with Gang of Four is rich with jaw-dropping stories.

Evocative, pacey and witty in equal measure, To Hell With Poverty! is a music memoir for the ages©2025 Jon King (P)2025 Hachette Audio UK Entertainment & Celebrities Music Witty

Critic reviews

A sparkling, affectionate account of growing up with music in the 60s and 70s and, for a member of a band as intense and political as the Gang of Four, surprisingly self-knowing and immensely funny (Mark Ellen)
All stars
Most relevant
Superb. And very well read. A great story whether you know the music or not. Great stuff.

Excellent.

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Aged 17 i heard Love Like Anthrax. It sounded like someone knocking a nail into the head of the world. GoF help me and millions of others understand a world we want live in. Like being given a torn corner of a map of where the treasure is buried. I go on to have career in music (failed Dave Allen/Youth wanabee but record companies provide homes for such failures). Still obsessed with that era this book recreates the doom and fun that seemed to coexist like a bad marriage of two co-dependents. I love a good music bio and this is one the very best. Honest (JK doesn’t try to paint him a saint) and full of reasons, motivations, characters and incident. I read in two days, switching to listen again to some of the bands mentioned or GoF track. An utter joy. I wanted to know to know more about the afterlives of the bands members. I once met AG as he was up for producing a band i was working on. I got so starstruck i made a complete arse of myself. I did not know a lot of this stuff though. Ive always been curious about what fane does to people and GoFs ride was familiar but quite extreme in its highs, lows, break ups and financial disasters. Just fantastic though. I really hope Hugo and Mr K are alright. Dave Allens passing last week a reminder that greatness is not protection against normal shitty illnesses. However, the music sounds even better after this book. Wonderful.

A window into the soul of a cultural juganaut.

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Loved it. Always great to get the inside story of my favourite bands. Well done, Jon!

Brilliant band, great story well told.

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