[5] The album was co-produced by Jon King and Andy Gill along with Rob Warr, the band's manager at the time.

King's lyrics were heavily influenced by Situationism, the work of philosophers Michel Foucault and Jacques Lacan,[6] feminism, and Marx's theory of alienation; a unifying notion is that "the personal is political".

Topics include commodification ("Natural's Not in It", "Return the Gift"), proletarian life ("At Home He's a Tourist"), great man theory ("Not Great Men"), the treatment of Special Category Status prisoners at Long Kesh during The Troubles ("Ether"), and the impact of media reporting on acts of terrorism and Maoist guerrilla warfare in Latin America ("5.45").

[7] The album's cover artwork, designed by King, shows the influence of the Situationist International, a left-wing organization which became famous for inspiring the events of May 68 in France.

It depicts an "Indian" shaking hands with a "cowboy" in three heavily processed versions of the same image, based on a still from one of the Winnetou films starring Lex Barker and Pierre Brice, which had once been popular in East Germany as narratives critical of capitalism.

In this way, it approaches themes of exploitation, but may also criticize simplistic popular depictions of ethnic, social or political conflicts as "cowboys and Indians".

[citation needed] The album's back cover depicts a family whose father says, "I spend most of our money on myself so that I can stay fat", while the mother and children declare, "We're grateful for his leftovers".

On the album's inner sleeve, designed by Gill, small photographs depicting scenes shown on television are interlaced with text illustrating what the band suggests are the misleading subtexts of media presentation: "The facts are presented neutrally so that the public can make up its own mind"; "Men act heroically to defend their country"; "People are given what they want".

"At Home He's a Tourist" reached number 58 in the UK Singles Chart, the highest position of any Gang of Four song.

[9][10] In 2005, the band performed the album live in its entirety as part of the All Tomorrow's Parties-curated Don't Look Back concert series.

[31] Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers stated that the first time he heard the record, "It completely changed the way [he] looked at rock music and sent [him] on [his] trip as a bass player.