Warpaint (Photo by Mia Kirby)
The third single to be taken from the album The Problem of Leisure: A Celebration of Andy Gill and Gang of Four, is a new interpretation of “Paralysed” by Parklife faves Warpaint.
The Problem of Leisure is set for release on May 28. It’s a double album of tracks written by Andy Gill and Gang of Four, all newly reinterpreted and recorded by artists whose own unique contributions to music were enriched by listening to Gang of Four. The album features songs from across Gang of Four’s 40-plus year career, each individually chosen by the artists who covered them.
Speaking about their involvement in The Problem of Leisure, Warpaint’s Jenny Lee, who produced this new version of “Paralysed”, said:
“’The change will do me good.’ (Damaged Goods). Best piece of advice that pretty much changed my life. Not to mention Dave Allen’s bass playing also changed me forever. Made me wanna play bass.
“It was cool to get inside of ‘Paralysed,’ and for Gang Of Four to give us freedom to freak out in our way… it was a beautiful opportunity and we’re SOOO excited. It’s an honor actually to be a part of Andy’s tribute.”
Stream Warpaint’s cover of “Paralysed” on SoundCloud:
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“Andy loved the way Warpaint created not only songs but atmospheres, without sacrificing drive and danceability. The marriage of their unique sound with ‘Paralysed,’ on the face of it one of the least likely dance tracks ever, is spectacular,” said Andy Gill’s widow, Catherine Mayer. “The lyrics are also incredibly resonant at this moment in time where so many people feel helpless in the face of regressive populism and disfiguring inequalities.”
Catherine will donate any income she receives from the single to the [UK] Women’s Equality Party, a party she co-founded and that Andy passionately supported.
After Andy’s death in February 2020, Catherine assembled a small team to complete The Problem of Leisure. The record had originally been conceived by Andy himself not as a post-mortem tribute, but to mark the 40th anniversary in 2019 of Gang Of Four’s extraordinary 1979 debut long player Entertainment!, an album widely heralded as a classic (“the fifth best punk album of all time” – Rolling Stone). Andy had already revised that vision in the months before his death, after some artists chose tracks from different albums and periods.