The Clash Totally Explained

Everything about The Clash totally explained

The Clash were an English punk rock band, active from 1976 to 1986, part of the original wave of UK punk. Along with punk rock, they experimented with reggae, funk, rap, dub, rock and roll and rockabilly among other roots musics. For most of their recording career, The Clash consisted of Joe Strummer (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Mick Jones (lead guitar), Paul Simonon (bass) and Nicky "Topper" Headon (drums, percussion). The group disbanded in early 1986, owing to lack of creative control and the loss of Headon in 1982 and Jones in 1983 due to internal friction.
The Clash were a major success in the UK from the release of their debut album. Their third album, London Calling, released in the UK in December 1979, brought them popularity in the United States when it came out there the following year. It received wide critical acclaim; a decade later Rolling Stone magazine declared it the best album of the 1980s.
The Clash's style and rebellious attitude, along with their music, had a far-reaching influence on rock, alternative rock in particular. Their record label's A&R director dubbed them "The Only British Band That Matters," which fans picked up and transformed into "The Only Band That Matters". In January 2003 they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The band wanted to play at the event, but were prevented by Joe Strummer's death in December 2002. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked The Clash #30 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.

History

Formation and first years: 1975–1976

Most of the band's founding members were already active in the London music scene at the time of The Clash's formation. John Graham Mellor had played in the pub rock act The 101'ers. He had already abandoned his original stage name, "Woody" Mellor, in favor of "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" spent much of 1976 in rehearsals. At the behest of their manager, Bernie Rhodes, Jones, Levene and Simonon recruited the slightly older Strummer from the 101'ers. As Simonon later said, "[o]nce we'd Joe on board it all started to come together." By that autumn the band had signed a contract with CBS Records. In early September, Levene was kicked out for never showing up to practice. 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 and Give 'Em Enough Rope: 1977-1978

In January 1977 the group signed a 100,000 pound contract with CBS Records. The band recalled Terry Chimes for the recording, and hired Mickey Foote, who worked as a technician at their concerts, to produce the album. They released their first single "White Riot", in March of 1977, and the their first album The Clash, in April of 1977. Both obtained considerable success in the UK, yet CBS refused to released the album and single in the USA, saying that the sound wasn't “radio friendly”. 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". It reached number 2 in the U.K., but it wasn't the American breakthrough CBS had hoped for, reaching only number 128 on the Billboard charts. The band toured the U.S. for the first time while promoting the album. The tour was largely successful.

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 US this 3-LP, 36-song album was their most controversial to date, both politically and musically. The band's original drummer, Terry Chimes, was brought back for the next few months.
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: 1985-1998

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. and the single has also received retroactive praise from Q Magazine and others. "CBS had paid an advance for it so they'd 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

Late reunions: 1999-present

In 1999, Strummer, Jones and Simonon cooperated in the compiling of the live album 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.

Politics

The band's music was often charged by a leftist political ideology. 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. where Strummer wore a controversial t-shirt bearing the words "Brigade 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 Italy and Germany, but to bring attention to their existence. Strummer and Jones were arrested for a string of offences from vandalism to stealing a pillowcase.

Post-Clash careers

Joe Strummer 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 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. 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". His final gig was at Liverpool Academy on 22 November 2002.
   On 22 December 2002 Joe 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.
   In 2007, a film has been made about Strummer's life, called . The documentary film, directed by Julien Temple, premiered January 20, 2007 at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival. Mick Jones 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. Paul Simonon
   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 didn't 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.
   After a seven year gap Simonon is exhibiting paintings again. He will be having a show at Thomas Williams Fine Art on Bond St from the 17th April 2008. Topper Headon 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's 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

1976 Original 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
1977	Joe Strummer – lead vocals, rhythm guitar Mick Jones – lead guitar, backing vocals Paul Simonon – bass guitar, backing vocals Terry Chimes – drums, percussion
1977-1982 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
1982-1983	Joe Strummer – lead vocals, rhythm guitar Mick Jones – lead guitar, backing vocals Paul Simonon – bass guitar, backing vocals Terry Chimes – drums, percussion
1983	Joe Strummer – lead vocals, rhythm guitar Mick Jones – lead guitar, backing vocals Paul Simonon – bass guitar, backing vocals Pete Howard – drums, percussion
1983-1986 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

Discography

The Clash (1977)

Give 'Em Enough Rope (1978)

London Calling (1979)

Sandinista! (1980)

Combat Rock (1982)

Cut the Crap (1985)Further Information

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