The Clash

The London punk band whose 1979 double album London Calling was ranked best album of the 1980s by Rolling Stone, and who took punk into reggae, rockabilly and dub.

Origin: London, England
Years active: 1976-1986
Genres: punk rock, post-punk, new wave
Labels: CBS, Epic

Formation

The Clash formed in London in 1976 around Joe Strummer, Mick Jones, Paul Simonon and, at first, the guitarist Keith Levene. Strummer had sung in the pub rock band the 101ers. Jones had played in London SS, managed by Bernard Rhodes, who went on to manage the Clash. Simonon learned bass at Jones's suggestion and chose the band's name after seeing the word clash recur in the newspapers. Strummer said that watching the Sex Pistols open for one of his band's gigs in April 1976 showed him the future. The Clash made their debut on 4 July 1976, supporting the Sex Pistols in Sheffield. Levene and the band parted ways in early September, and Terry Chimes drummed until late November.

A confrontation between Black youth and police at the 1976 Notting Hill Carnival shaped the band's politics and inspired White Riot. They signed to CBS Records on 25 January 1977.

The first albums

The Clash was made in three Thursday-to-Sunday sessions at CBS Studio 3 in February 1977 for 4,000 pounds, with the band's live soundman Mickey Foote producing. It came out on 8 April 1977 and reached number 12 in the UK. Tony Parsons wrote in the New Musical Express that it held some of the most exciting rock'n'roll in contemporary music. In the United States it was available only as an import, selling more than 100,000 copies, until Epic issued a modified version in 1979.

Topper Headon joined as permanent drummer in May 1977. His first recording with the band was Complete Control, produced by Lee Perry, which reached number 28 in September 1977. On 30 April 1978 the Clash played the Rock Against Racism carnival in London's Victoria Park. Sandy Pearlman produced Give 'Em Enough Rope, which came out in November 1978 and reached number 2 in the UK.

London Calling

In May 1979 the band arrived at Vanilla Studios in Pimlico with no new songs. They rehearsed in private through the summer, with early cover songs setting the template for the album's mix of styles, and made demos that were later released as the Vanilla Tapes. From August 1979 they recorded London Calling at Wessex Sound Studios with the producer Guy Stevens and the engineer Bill Price, working 18-hour days.

The double album came out in Britain on 14 December 1979 at about the price of a single record. It reached number 9 in the UK and number 27 in the United States, where it appeared in January 1980. Train in Vain gave them their first US top 40 single. The cover, Pennie Smith's photograph of Simonon smashing his bass at the Palladium in New York on 20 September 1979, was named the best rock and roll photograph of all time by Q in 2002. In 1989 Rolling Stone ranked the album the best of the 1980s.

Sandinista! and Combat Rock

Sandinista! followed on 12 December 1980 as a triple album of 36 tracks, credited for the first time to the Clash as a group. The band gave up royalties on the first 200,000 UK copies so that it could be sold at a low price. British reviews were mostly poor, but it was voted best album of 1981 in the Village Voice critics' poll.

Combat Rock, released on 14 May 1982 and mixed by Glyn Johns, was edited down from a 77-minute double album to a 46-minute single record. It reached number 2 in the UK and number 7 in the US. It carried Rock the Casbah, their only US top 10 single, and Should I Stay or Should I Go.

The end and after

Headon left the band in 1982 and Jones in 1983. A new line-up made Cut the Crap, released in November 1985, and in January 1986 it was announced that the Clash had disbanded. A reissue of Should I Stay or Should I Go, which gained fresh attention from a Levi's commercial, gave them their only UK number one in 1991.

The Clash entered the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003. In 2013 the Sound System box set gathered remastered albums, singles, rarities and demos, with Jones and Simonon overseeing the project. Rolling Stone placed the band at number 28 on its 2004 list of the 100 greatest artists.

Members

Joe Strummer lead vocals, rhythm guitar (1976-1986)
Mick Jones lead guitar, vocals (1976-1983)
Paul Simonon bass, vocals (1976-1986)
Topper Headon drums, percussion (1977-1982)
Terry Chimes drums (1976-1977, 1982-1983)
Keith Levene guitar (1976)

Records

The Clash 1977 · CBS
The debut, recorded in three Thursday-to-Sunday sessions for 4,000 pounds, with a modified version released in the United States in 1979.
Give 'Em Enough Rope 1978 · CBS (UK), Epic (US)
The second album, produced by Sandy Pearlman, Headon's first with the band and a number 2 record in the UK.
London Calling 1979 · CBS (UK), Epic (US and Canada)
The double album recorded with Guy Stevens at Wessex, sold at the price of a single record, and ranked best album of the 1980s by Rolling Stone.
Sandinista! 1980
A triple album of 36 tracks, credited to the band as a group and sold at a low price.
Combat Rock 1982 · CBS (UK), Epic (US)
The fifth album, edited from a double album down to a single record, with Rock the Casbah and Should I Stay or Should I Go.

Songs

London Calling London Calling · 1979
The opening track of the double album, a warning about floods, nuclear error and drowning, fading out on an S-O-S.
White Riot The Clash · 1977
The first Clash single, written after the 1976 Notting Hill Carnival riots.
Complete Control The Clash · 1977
The 1977 single produced by Lee Perry, and Topper Headon's first recording with the band.
Should I Stay or Should I Go Combat Rock · 1982
Mick Jones's Combat Rock track, a UK number one when it was reissued in 1991.
Train in Vain London Calling · 1979
The unlisted last track of London Calling, sung by Jones, and the band's first US top 40 single.
Rock the Casbah Combat Rock · 1982
Topper Headon's music and Joe Strummer's lyric: the Clash's only US top 10 single.

The Sex Pistols, Big Audio Dynamite, The Ramones, Lee Scratch Perry

Where to go next

Official

The Clash, official site News, timeline, videos and a gigography.

Reference

The Clash The band's history and discography.
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: the Clash The 2003 induction profile.

Writing and criticism

The Clash's 40 greatest songs, ranked Dave Simpson's ranking, with a paragraph on each song.
The Clash: 10 of the best A short Guardian guide to ten songs.
The Clash to release new box set The Sound System box set, with Mick Jones on the remastering.
The Clash's 30 best songs Uncut's list of the band's best songs.
London Calling: 25th Anniversary Legacy Edition A review of the 2004 reissue, with the story of the Vanilla Tapes.
The Clash: Combat Rock Pitchfork's review of the fifth album.
BBC Music review of London Calling Mark Sutherland on the 25th anniversary edition.
Rolling Stone on London Calling, 1980 Tom Carson's review at the time of release.
Rolling Stone on Give 'Em Enough Rope, 1979 Greil Marcus's review of the second album.
Rolling Stone on Sandinista!, 1981 John Piccarella's review of the triple album.
Rolling Stone on Combat Rock, 1982 David Fricke's review of the fifth album.
All 139 Clash songs, ranked A song-by-song ranking of the whole catalogue.

Interviews

Classic Tracks: London Calling Engineer Bill Price on recording and mixing the title track and the album.

Sources

The Clash, Wikipedia
The Clash, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The Clash's 40 greatest songs, ranked, The Guardian (2020-01-09)
London Calling: 25th Anniversary Legacy Edition, Pitchfork (2004)
London Calling, review, Rolling Stone (1980-04-03)
Classic Tracks: The Clash's London Calling, Mix (2000-11-01)
The Clash: official site, The Clash