This is the rarest Gang of Four studio recording, released only once, on a flexi-disc inside of the magazine “Vinyl Music” (Netherlands, July 1982).
I obtained a copy at the time, played it just twice to record it to cassette, then played it again circa 2000 to rip a digital file.
This post is based on that uncompressed rip, re-EQ’ed to address the limitations of flexi-disc sonics. This is as hard as I can make it kick.
The issues were primarily a thin, stabby drum machine (and cheap plastic) at the high end, and distorted, non-musical thumping on the low end. I also adjusted the volume in a several places, because the original mix includes sudden shifts that disrupt the flow. My main focus was on clarifying the bass articulation and Andy Gill's fantastic dueling guitars.
I can’t find any information about when the track was recorded or what it is. Song-wise, it sounds like the Dave Allen period, but it's not Allen playing bass, and it was not included on the recent boxed set covering his period. I'm guessing the recording is a 1981 Gill/King demo of an abandoned song, which would make it a logical candidate for a throwaway flexi-disc in 1982. Maybe discarded in favor of "Capital (it fails us now)."
Cover art is adapted from the flexi-disc’s label and a cover detail from “Entertainment.”