Post punk veterans Gang of Four have announced a farewell tour slated for spring 2025, nearly 50 years after they first formed. The tour, which will span North America, is set to commemorate the 45th anniversary of their landmark debut album, Entertainment!, by performing it in full each night. Fans will also be treated to a second set of deeper cuts and fan favourites from across their extensive catalogues.
The tour will kick off on April 20 in Boston and will take the band across major cities in the United States and Canada, including Toronto, New York, Chicago, Atlanta, Seattle, Los Angeles, and more. The final show is scheduled for May 29 in San Diego. With nearly five decades behind them, Gang of Four’s final run will offer fans a chance to see the band perform the music that made them one of the most influential groups of the post-punk era.
In their statement announcing the tour, the band reflected on their long career: “2025 will be the 45th anniversary of the release of Entertainment! in the US, and will be our final year as a band. It’s been wonderful, but all things must end. We want to go out with a bang and celebrate with our fans and friends. So, on what will be our last US tour, we’ll play two sets at each show: Entertainment! from start to finish in the first, and the best of the rest in the second. Come and join in, it’ll be a blast!”
‘The Long Goodbye’ Tour – North America 2025
Tickets for all shows are on-sale at 10am local venue times on Friday here: https://t.co/BbyLnkcnIa pic.twitter.com/miNxtrojwC
— Gang Of Four (@gangof4official) October 1, 2024
This tour marks the band’s first major outing since the passing of guitarist and founding member Andy Gill in 2020. Gill, whose angular guitar work was integral to Gang of Four’s sound, died after a short respiratory illness. Since then, the remaining members of the band—Jon King, Hugo Burnham, David Pajo, and Gail Greenwood—have continued to perform, releasing several records in tribute to their late bandmate. These included two EPs in 2020, This Heaven Gives Me Migraines and Anti Hero, as well as the box set 77-81, which captured the band’s early, defining years.
Gang of Four first came onto the scene in 1977, with Entertainment! arriving two years later. That album, now widely regarded as one of the most significant post-punk releases of all time, merged jagged guitars, driving rhythms, and politically charged lyrics to create a sound that was both confrontational and danceable. Tracks like “Damaged Goods” and “At Home He’s a Tourist” helped establish the band as a critical voice during an era of political upheaval, and their influence on later generations of musicians, from alternative rock bands like R.E.M. to contemporary acts like LCD Soundsystem, is undeniable.
For this farewell tour, the band will lean heavily on Entertainment!, playing it in its entirety during the first set each night. The decision to center the tour around that album underscores its lasting impact, not just on post-punk but on rock music more broadly. The second set will draw from their broader catalog, offering fans a deeper dive into the music that has kept the band relevant for decades.
