The Clash were an English punk rock band, active from 1976 to 1986, part of the original wave of UK punk rock in the late 1970s. Although a punk rock band, the band experimented with reggae, funk, rap, dub, rock and roll and rockabilly in their music. The band were formed by Joe Strummer (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Mick Jones (lead guitar, backing vocals) and Paul Simonon (bass guitar, backing vocals). During this time they had a revolving drumming position, including Terry Chimes who featured on the band's eponymous first album The Clash despite the fact that by this point of time he had already chosen to leave the band. Needing a stable drummer, they were finally joined in 1977 by Jones' friend Nicky "Topper" Headon (drums, percussion).
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- Until the untimely departure of Headon in 1982 and Jones in 1983 due to internal friction, this is the lineup from the band's peak with the largest recorded output, and was the lineup inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The band disbanded in the early days of 1986, largely due to lack of creative control and the loss of Jones and Headon who were together half the skill of the band. The late Strummer has apologised for the firing of these two members and he admitted that it was a huge mistake to make, both creatively and progressively for the band.
The Clash were a major success in the UK from the release of their first album in 1977 named 'The Clash', and became popular in the U.S. in 1980. Their third album, the late 1979 release London Calling is an influential album in the history of rock and alternative music; it was released in the U.S. in January 1980, and a decade later Rolling Stone magazine declared it the best album of the 1980s. Rolling Stone also placed it at #8, The Clash at #77, and Sandinista! at #404 on their 2003 list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.
The Clash's attitude and style, as much as their music, influenced many other bands from the 1980s. Epic Records A&R director dubbed them "The Only British Band That Matters," which fans later adapted into the well known title "The Only Band That Matters". They are one of the most prominent and prolific punk rock bands and their influence is far reaching. In January 2003 they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The band wanted to play at the event, but Joe Strummer's untimely death in December 2002, prevented this. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked The Clash #30 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.
In March 2008 a new live performance documentary The Clash Live: Revolution Rock will debut on US public television as well as being released on DVD. Produced by long time visual collaborator Don Letts, who contributed his own footage for the project, the DVD will also contain two interviews filmed in 1981.
History
Formation and first years: 1975–1977
Most of the band's founding members were already active in the local music at the time of The Clash's formation. John Graham Mellor a/k/a Joe Strummer had previously played in the pub rock act The 101'ers (his stage name at this point was Woody Mellor; soon he renamed himself "Joe Strummer", a reference to his rudimentary strumming skills on the ukulele as a busker in the London Underground). Mick Jones and Paul Simonon were briefly in legendary proto-punk band London SS.Jones, Simonon, guitarist Keith Levene and "whoever we could find really to play the drums"
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- spent much of 1976 in rehearsals. At the behest of their manager Bernie Rhodes,
Related news articles: - Jones, Levene, and Simonon recruited the slightly older Strummer from the 101'ers. The recruitment took place in the Portobello market when Paul Simonon and Mick Jones bumped into Strummer and told him they didn't like the 101'ers but thought he had punk potential. This episode was recounted by Strummer, in their 1978 song "All the Young Punks (New Boots and Contracts)".
Related news articles: - As Simonon later said, "[o]nce we had Joe on board it all started to come together."
Paul Simonon came up with the band's name, The Clash, after they had considered alternatives including "The Weak Heartdrops" and "The Psychotic Negatives". Simonon explained how he came up with the name, "It really came to my head when I start reading the newspapers and a word that kept reoccurring was the word 'clash', so I thought 'the Clash, what about that,' to the others. And they and Bernard they went for it." After deciding on a name, the band found a stable drummer in Terry Chimes.
The Clash had their first gig on July 4, 1976, supporting the Sex Pistols at the Black Swan in Sheffield. By that autumn the band had signed a contract with CBS Records.
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- In early September, Levene was kicked out for never showing up to practice. On September 21, 1976 the band performed at the 100 Club Punk Festival, sharing the bill with the Sex Pistols, Siouxsie and the Banshees and Subway Sect. Chimes left in late November, briefly replaced by Rob Harper for the Anarchy Tour in December 1976, but was soon drafted back to record their debut album.
Debut & Rope: 1977-1979
The band released their first single ("White Riot/1977") and first album (The Clash) in 1977 to considerable success in the UK. CBS initially declined to release either in the United States, waiting until 1979 before releasing a modified version of the first album in the U.S., after the UK original had become the best-selling import album of all time in the United States. At the time Chimes had left the band, so only Simonon, Jones and Strummer were featured on the album's cover, and Chimes was credited as "Tory Crimes". In the documentary Westway to the World, Mick Jones referred to him as one of "the best drummers around". But Chimes, who had no great wish to make a career from music, said, "The point was that I wanted one kind of life – they wanted another, and why are we working together, if we want completely different things?"The band experienced a period of changing drummers. After some time with Mick Jones handling drum duties, the band finally recruited Topper Headon, nicknamed "Topper" by Simonon, because he resembled the famous comic's cartoon cover star, "Mickey the Monkey". Headon had excellent musical skills, being able to play other instruments such as piano, bass and guitar. He was originally planning to stay briefly and gain a name for himself, before finding a better band. Realizing the band's potential he changed his plans and stayed in the band. In Westway To The World Strummer noted, "If we hadn't found Topper, I don't think we'd have got anywhere".
With Topper Headon on drums, the Clash recorded Give 'Em Enough Rope in 1978, produced by Sandy Pearlman, whose previous credits included the American heavy metal band Blue Öyster Cult. Rude Boy, a 1980 film about the Clash, contained studio recording sessions of Give 'Em Enough Rope, and concert sequences that demonstrate why they should be considered as one of the greatest rock live acts.
London Calling, Sandinista! and Combat Rock: 1979-1982
The Clash then recorded London Calling. Produced by Guy Stevens, who had previously worked with Mott the Hoople and others, the double album was a mix of punk rock, rockabilly, reggae, rock and roll, ska and other elements that recalled the band's earlier days, but also had greater maturity and production polish, and is regarded as one of the greatest rock & roll albums ever recorded. The album contained 2 LPs and ended with a hidden track not noted in the song list. Called "Train in Vain", it received the most airplay on album-oriented rock (AOR) FM stations in the U.S.The Clash planned to record and release a single every month in 1980. Their record label, CBS, balked at this idea, and these efforts resulted in the album Sandinista!. Containing elements of rock, punk, reggae (including extended dubs), ska, jazz, and disco, unified by a heavily echoed sound, this 3-LP, 36-song album was their most controversial to date, both politically and musically. The album fared well in America, charting at #24, even though it had no catchy single and, in the increasingly conservative environment of AOR FM radio in the U.S., received minimal airplay.
The band recorded their fifth album Combat Rock, which was originally planned as a double album with the title Rat Patrol from Fort Bragg, but the idea was scrapped after wrangling within the group. Mick Jones had produced the first cut, but the other members were dissatisfied and producing duties were handed to Glyn Johns at which point the album became a single LP. The original cut has since been bootlegged. Simpler and more straightforward than Sandinista!, the album contained the single "Should I Stay or Should I Go?" which received heavy airplay in the U.S. on AOR FM stations. The following single, "Rock the Casbah", a song about the Iranian clampdown on imports of Western music, was a Top 40 hit in the U.S., with heavy rotation on MTV.
Disintegration: 1982-1984
After Combat Rock, the Clash began to disintegrate. Topper Headon was asked to leave the band just prior to the release of the album, due to his heroin addiction, which was hurting his health and drumming. The band's original drummer, Terry Chimes, was brought back for the next few months. The loss of Headon brought much friction, as he was an essential part of the band and well-liked by the others. Jones and Strummer began to feud. The band opened for The Who on a leg of their final tour in the U.S, playing New York's Shea Stadium. Though the band continued to tour, relationships within the band continued to fracture.The band continued to tour, but by 1983, the years of constant touring and recording took their toll. They were growing as musicians and individuals, but they were not able to cope with the tension and stress. Chimes left the band after the 1982-1983 Combat Rock tour, due to the in-fighting and turmoil.
In 1983, drummer Pete Howard joined the band for the US Festival in San Bernardino, California, of which The Clash were, along with David Bowie and Van Halen, co-headliners. The crowd of roughly half a million was by far the biggest of the Clash's career. This was Jones' last appearance with The Clash. In September 1983, Jones was fired due to his problematic behaviour and divergent musical aspirations. Jones went on to found Big Audio Dynamite (BAD) with Don Letts. Strummer later tried to contact Jones to reform The Clash, but Jones was too busy with Big Audio Dynamite.
The band picked Nick Sheppard, formerly of the Bristol-based Cortinas, and Vince White as the band's new guitarists. Howard continued to be the drummer. The band played its first shows in January 1984 with a batch of new material and launched into a self-financed tour, dubbed the "Out of Control" tour, and they toured heavily over the winter and into early summer. At a striking miners' benefit show ("Scargill's Christmas Party") in December 1984, they announced that a new record would be released early in the new year.
Cut the Crap and posthumous recognition: 1985-1999
The recording sessions for Cut the Crap were chaotic, with manager Bernie Rhodes and Strummer working in Munich, Germany. Most of the instruments were played by studio musicians, with Sheppard and later White flying in to come up with guitar parts. Struggling with Rhodes for control of the band, Strummer returned home. The band went on a busking tour, playing in public spaces in cities throughout the UK where they played acoustic versions of their hits and popular cover tunes.After a gig in Athens, Strummer went to Spain to clear his mind. While Strummer was gone, the first single from Cut the Crap, "This Is England" was released to mostly negative reviews at the time. However, respected critic Dave Marsh later championed "This Is England" as one of the top 1001 rock singles of all time, in his book "The Heart of Rock & Soul", and the single has also received retroactive praise from Q Magazine and others. "CBS had paid an advance for it so they had to put it out. I just went, 'Well fuck this', and fucked off to the mountains of Spain to sit sobbing under a palm tree, while Bernie had to deliver a record", said Joe Strummer later in an interview .
"This Is England", much like the rest of the album that came out later that year, had been drastically re-engineered by Rhodes, with synths, drum machines, and football-style chants being added to Strummer's incomplete recordings. For the remainder of his life Strummer publicly disowned the album, although he did express the sentiment that "This Is England" was the last good Clash single. Other songs played on the tour remain unreleased to this day, including "Jericho" and "Glue Zombie," while a live version of "(In the) Pouring Rain" finally saw release in 2007 on the soundtrack to Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten, a documentary about Joe Strummer. Although Howard was an adept drummer, virtually all of the percussion tracks were produced by drum machines. The Clash were effectively disbanded in early 1986, and the members went on to other projects.
On 2 March, 1991, The Clash scored their first #1 UK single with the reissue of “Should I Stay or Should I Go”. Joe Strummer reportedly cried and was very distraught when the band's hit and its title "Rock the Casbah" were used while bombing Iraq the same year.
Late reunions: 1999-present
In 1999, Strummer, Jones and Simonon cooperated in the compiling of the live album From Here to Eternity and video documentary Westway to the World. On 15 November, 2002, Jones and Strummer shared the stage, performing three Clash songs during a London benefit show by Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros. In January 2003 they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The band wanted to play, but the death of Strummer in December 2002 prevented the potential reunion. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked The Clash #30 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.In 2007, the late Joe Strummer was featured in a documentary directed by Julien Temple, called Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten. It comprises archive footage of him spanning his life, and interviews with friends, family, and other celebrities along with extensive interviews by Jones, Headon, Simonon and Terry Chimes. It debuted at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival.
On January 11, 2008, Carbon/Silicon, the new band of Mick Jones, Tony James, Leo Williams and Dominic Greensmith, played a show at the Carbon Casino Club, The Inn on the Green, 3-5 Thorpe Close, Portobello Green, London. Headon joined the band on stage during The Clash's "Train in Vain (Stand by Me)". An encore followed with Headon playing drums on "Should I Stay or Should I Go". This performance marked the first time since 1982 that Headon and Jones had performed together on stage.
Politics
The band's music was often charged by a leftist political ideology. They are credited with pioneering the advocacy of radical politics in punk rock, and were known as the "Thinking Man's Yobs" by many simply for voicing a political slant other than anarchism. They were never driven entirely by money; even at their peak, tickets to shows and souvenirs were reasonably priced. The group insisted that CBS sell their double and triple album sets London Calling and Sandinista! for the price of a single album each (then £5), succeeding with the former and compromising with the latter by agreeing to sell it for £5.99 and forfeit all their royalties on its first 200,000 sales. These "VFM" (Value For Money) principles meant that they were constantly in debt to CBS, and only started to break even around 1982.Like many early punk bands, The Clash protested against monarchy and aristocracy. However, unlike many early punk bands, The Clash rejected the overall sentiment of nihilism. Instead, they found solidarity with a number of contemporary liberation movements. The Clash's political views, especially those of Joe Strummer, were very leftist. Their politics were expressed explicitly in their lyrics, in early recordings such as "White Riot", which encouraged disaffected white youths to become politically active like their black counterparts, "Career Opportunities," which expressed discontent about the alienation of low-paid, production line style employment and the lack of alternatives, and "London's Burning", about the bleakness and boredom of life in the inner city.
They were also involved directly with the Anti-Nazi League, and heading Rock Against Racism concert in in London's Victoria Park for 80,000 people in April 1978, where Strummer wore a controversial t-shirt bearing the words "Brigate Rosse" with the Red Army Faction (Baader-Meinhof) insignia in the middle. He later said in an interview that he wore the shirt not to support the left-wing terrorist factions in Germany and Italy, but to bring attention to their existence. Strummer and Jones were arrested for a string of offences from vandalism to stealing a pillowcase. Caroline Coon stood up for what The Clash were doing during this period: "Those tough, militaristic songs were what we needed as we went into Thatcherism".
The group also supported other musicians' charity concerts, most notably at the December 1979 Concerts for the People of Kampuchea, presented by Paul McCartney. The benefit album released from the concerts features one song by The Clash, "Armagideon Time." The Clash offered some support to the Sandinista and other Marxist movements in Latin America (hence the title of their 1980 album, Sandinista!). By the time of the December 1979 album London Calling, the Clash were trying to maintain punk energy while developing musically. They were especially wary of their own emerging stardom: they always welcomed fans backstage after shows and showed open-mindedness, genuine interest and compassion in their relationships with them.
The title of London Calling evokes American radio newsman Edward R. Murrow's catchphrase during World War II, and the title song announces that "...war is declared and battle come down..." It warns against expecting them to be saviours — "... now don't look to us / Phoney Beatlemania has bitten the dust..." — draws a bleak picture of the times — "The ice age is coming, the sun's zooming in / Engines stop running, the wheat is growing thin" — but calls on their listeners to come out and take up the fight without constantly looking to London, or to The Clash themselves, for cues — "Forget it, brother, we can go it alone... Quit holding out and draw another breath... I don't want to shout / But while we were talking I saw you nodding out..." — finally asking, "After all this, won't you give me a smile?"
Post-Clash careers
In 1986, Joe Strummer collaborated with ex-bandmate Jones on BAD's second album, No. 10 Upping St., co-producing the album and co-writing seven of its songs. Strummer acted in a few movies, notably Alex Cox's Walker, and Jim Jarmusch's Mystery Train, as well as a cameo in Aki Kaurismäki's I hired a Contract Killer, in which he sings "Burning Lights/Afro-Cuban Be-Bop". He did songs for movie soundtracks (notably "Love Kills" for the film Sid and Nancy), and he co-produced the Grosse Pointe Blank soundtracks with John Cusack. As well, he experimented with different backing bands with limited success. In 1989, he released the first of his solo albums, Earthquake Weather, which was neither a commercial nor critical success. He toured with a new backing band, The Latino Rockabilly War, which contributed five songs to the soundtrack of the movie Permanent Record, including an instrumental and the song "Trash City", which was also released as a single. In 1991/92 Strummer joined The Pogues after their split with former frontman Shane MacGowan for a series of concerts across Europe. In the late 1990s, Strummer formed a backing band he called The Mescaleros. In 2002 Joe Strummer & the Mescaleros performed a benefit gig for the striking Firefighters of London (FBU) at the Acton Town Hall, London (later referred to as "The Last Night London Burned"). For the encores, Mick Jones joined the band. They were: "Bankrobber", "White Riot" and "London’s Burning". In 1996 Strummer recorded with Black Grape (band of vocalist Shaun Ryder, ex Happy Mondays) their football anthem "England's Irie", which became a Top Ten hit. His final gig was at Liverpool Academy on 22 November 2002. On 22 December 2002, Strummer died suddenly of a congenital heart defect at the age of 50. The Mescaleros’ album he was working on at the time, Streetcore, was released posthumously to critical acclaim in 2003. Jones commented in the press that, after the brief reunion on Westway to the World in 1999, the foursome were considering reuniting for a tour. A film has been made about Strummer's life, called Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten.After his expulsion from The Clash, Mick Jones formed Big Audio Dynamite (often shortened to B.A.D.) in 1984 with film director Don Letts who directed various Clash videos and Westway to the World.
The band's debut album, This is Big Audio Dynamite, was released the following year with the song "E=MC²" receiving heavy rotation in dance clubs. The next album, No. 10 Upping St., reunited Jones with Strummer. Jones released three more albums with Big Audio Dynamite before reshuffling the line-up and renaming the band Big Audio Dynamite II. The band was later renamed Big Audio in the mid-1990s because they found that it was much more suitable for the type of genre they were influenced by at that particular time.
Jones featured on the two studio albums by The Libertines as producer and also produced the debut Babyshambles album. Jones is currently touring and recording with his new band, Carbon/Silicon.
Following the break-up of The Clash, Paul Simonon formed a group called Havana 3am, which recorded only one album in Japan and quickly folded. Then Simonon returned to his roots as a visual artist, mounting several art-gallery shows and contributing the cover for Jones' third BAD album, Tighten Up Vol. 88.
Simonon's reluctance to play music again has largely been cited as the reason why The Clash were one of the few 1970s British punk bands that did not reform to cash in on the punk-nostalgia craze of the late 1990s. Simonon was quoted in Westway to the World as saying that The Clash are over and that "suits him fine".
He is currently collaborating with Damon Albarn, of Blur, Simon Tong of The Verve, and Tony Allen, main founder of the afrobeat and drummer of Fela Kuti to form The Good, the Bad and the Queen. Their first gig took place on the 26 October 2006 at the Roundhouse.
By 1982, Topper Headon had been dismissed by the rest of the band due to the heroin addiction. His addiction eventually landed him in jail for supplying an addict who later overdosed and died. Except for forming a short-lived R&B band (in 1986 he recorded a LP called Waking Up as well as a 12" E.P. titled Drumming Man), Headon disappeared from the music business until the filming of Letts' retrospective documentary about The Clash, Westway to The World, where he sincerely apologised for his addiction. Headon also attended a subsequent presentation to Strummer, Jones, Simonon, and Headon of a Lifetime Achievement British Music Award. After many years of rehabilitation, he has overcome his addiction, and is performing live again.
On January 11, 2008, Headon shared the stage with Mick Jones during a Carbon/Silicon gig at the Carbon Casino Club, The Inn on the Green, 3-5 Thorpe Close, Portobello Green, London. Headon played together with Jones and Carbon/Silicon two Clash's song, "Train in Vain (Stand by Me)" and "Should I Stay or Should I Go". This performance marked the first time since 1982 that Headon and Jones had performed together on stage.
Members
{| class="toccolours" border=1 cellpadding=2 cellspacing=0 style="float: lleft; width: 375px; margin: 0 0 1em 1em; border-collapse: collapse; border: 1px solid #E2E2E2" ! bgcolor="#E7EBEE" | 1976Original line-up |
- Joe Strummer – lead vocals, rhythm guitar
- Mick Jones – lead guitar, backing vocals
- Keith Levene – lead guitar
- Paul Simonon – bass guitar, backing vocals
- Terry Chimes – drums, percussion
- Joe Strummer – lead vocals, rhythm guitar
- Mick Jones – lead guitar, backing vocals
- Paul Simonon – bass guitar, backing vocals
- Terry Chimes – drums, percussion
Classic line-up |
- Joe Strummer – lead vocals, rhythm guitar
- Mick Jones – lead guitar, backing vocals
- Paul Simonon – bass guitar, backing vocals
- Topper Headon – drums, percussion
- Joe Strummer – lead vocals, rhythm guitar
- Mick Jones – lead guitar, backing vocals
- Paul Simonon – bass guitar, backing vocals
- Terry Chimes – drums, percussion
- Joe Strummer – lead vocals, rhythm guitar
- Mick Jones – lead guitar, backing vocals
- Paul Simonon – bass guitar, backing vocals
- Pete Howard – drums, percussion
Final line-up |
- Joe Strummer – lead vocals, rhythm guitar
- Nick Sheppard – lead guitar, backing vocals
- Vince White – lead guitar
- Paul Simonon – bass guitar, backing vocals
- Pete Howard – drums, percussion
Filmography
- Rude Boy (1980) (directed by Jack Hazan and David Mingay)
- This is Video Clash (1985)
- The Clash: Westway to the World (2000) (directed by Don Letts)
- The Essential Clash (2003)
- The Clash: Up Close and Personal (2007)
- Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten (2007) (directed by Julien Temple)
- The Clash Live: Revolution Rock (2008) (Sony/BMG)