Gang of Four Turn to Fans to Fund New Album

In a move that makes for a convincing case for the slow death of the record label, agit-rockers Gang of Four are poised to release their first set of new songs in 16 years on Jan. 25. 'Content' -- the band's seventh album -- has been entirely funded by fans who have made pledges of investment via the Pledge Music website in return for a plethora of collectable material including signed T-shirts, hand-written lyric sheets and even phials of the band's own blood.

In a further bid to raise revenue to cover the recording costs of the album, Gang of Four also sold Walkmans (remember them?) with bootlegs of the band's first ever gig for a mere £175 ($271) as well as downloadable memorabilia including old reviews and gig posters.

"What I've been thrilled by over the years is that our music still seems to make sense to our audiences, however old they are," said singer Jon King in a statement, "and these days they're mostly under 30."

The new album will be the first new material from the band since 1995's 'Shrinkwrapped.' Having reformed in 2004, Gang of Four released "Return the Gift' -- their own tribute album of sorts that contained re-recordings of some of their earliest and best known work.