The Clash were an English rock band formed in London in 1976. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they are considered one of the most influential acts in the original wave of British punk rock, with their music fusing elements of reggae, dub, funk, ska and rockabilly. The band also contributed to the post-punk and new wave movements that followed. For most of their recording career, the Clash consisted of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Joe Strummer, lead guitarist and vocalist Mick Jones, bassist Paul Simonon and drummer Nicky "Topper" Headon.
The Clash achieved critical and commercial success in the United Kingdom with the release of their debut album The Clash (1977) and their second album Give 'Em Enough Rope (1978). Their third album London Calling, which was released in the UK in December 1979, earned them popularity in the United States, where it was released the following month. A decade later, Rolling Stone named London Calling the best album of the 1980s. Following continued musical experimentation on their fourth album Sandinista! (1980), the band achieved further commercial success with the release of Combat Rock (1982), which includes the US top-10 hit "Rock the Casbah", helping the album to achieve a 2× platinum certification there.
In 1982, Headon left the band due to internal friction surrounding his increasing heroin addiction, and Jones departed the following year. With a new lineup, the band released their final album Cut the Crap in 1985 before disbanding a few weeks later.[1]
In January 2003, shortly after the death of Joe Strummer, the band, including original drummer Terry Chimes, were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked the Clash number 28 on its list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time".[2]
History
Origins: 1974–1976
Before the Clash's founding, the band's future members were active in different parts of the London music scene. Joe Strummer, whose real name was John Graham Mellor, sang and played rhythm guitar in the pub rock band The 101ers, which he had formed in 1974 with Álvaro Peña-Rojas.[3] Mellor later abandoned his original stage name "Woody" Mellor in favour of "Joe Strummer", a reference to his rudimentary strumming skills on the ukulele while he was a busker in the London Underground.
Mick Jones played guitar in protopunk band London SS[3] and rehearsed for much of 1975, but never played a live show and recorded only one demo. London SS were managed by Bernard Rhodes, an associate of impresario Malcolm McLaren and a friend of the members of the Sex Pistols, whom McLaren managed. Jones and his bandmates became friendly with Sex Pistols members Glen Matlock and Steve Jones, who helped them as they auditioned potential new members. Bassist
Politics
The Clash's music often expresses left-wing ideological sentiments.[69] Strummer was a committed socialist. The Clash are credited with pioneering the advocacy of radical politics in punk rock; NME dubbed them "Thinking Man's Yobs".[70] Like many early punk bands, the Clash protested against monarchy and aristocracy but unlike many of their peers, they rejected nihilism.[20] Instead, they found solidarity with a number of liberation movements and were involved with groups such as the Anti-Nazi League. At their performance on 30 April 1978 at the Rock Against Racism concert in London's Victoria Park for a crowd of between 50,000 and 100,000 people, Strummer wore a T-shirt identifying two far-left armed militant groups: Italy's Red Brigades (Brigate Rosse, misspelt as Brigade Rosse on the T-shirt) and West Germany's Red Army Faction.[71][72]
Musical style and influences
The Clash are mainly described as a punk rock band.[76][77] According to Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic, "Sex Pistols may have been the first British punk rock band, but the Clash were the definitive British punk rockers".[78] Later in their career, the Clash used elements of a variety of musical genres, including reggae, rockabilly, dub and R&B.[78] With their double album London Calling, the band expanded the breadth of their musical styles.[79] Consequently, the band's music has also been described as experimental rock[80]
Legacy and influence
In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked the Clash number 28 on its list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time,[84] and in 2010, the band was ranked 22nd on VH1's 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.[85] According to The Times, the Clash's debut, alongside Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols, is "punk's definitive statement" and London Calling "remains one of the most influential rock albums".[72] London Calling was ranked eighth In Rolling Stone's 2003 list of the 500 greatest albums of all time, which is the highest entry by a punk band; in the same list, The Clash was ranked 77th and Sandinista! was ranked 404th.[86] In the magazine's 2004 list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, "London Calling" was ranked number 15, again the highest entry for any song by a punk band. Four other Clash songs made the list: "Should I Stay Or Should I Go" (228), "Train in Vain" (292), "Complete Control" (361) and "(White Man) in Hammersmith Palais" (430).[23]
Band members
Classic lineup (1977–1982)[113]
- Joe Strummer – lead and backing vocals, rhythm guitar (1976–1986; died 2002)
- Mick Jones – lead guitar, lead and backing vocals (1976–1983)
- Paul Simonon – bass guitar, backing and lead vocals (1976–1986)
- Nicky "Topper" Headon – drums, percussion (1977–1982)
Discography
- The Clash (1977)
- Give 'Em Enough Rope (1978)
- London Calling (1979)
- Sandinista! (1980)
- Combat Rock (1982)
- Cut the Crap (1985)
See also
- Album era
- The Clash on film
- John Richards, KEXP radio personality, created International Clash Day on 7 February 2013.
Further reading
- Egan, Sean (2014). The Clash: The Only Band That Mattered. Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-0-8108-8875-3.
External links
- The Clash Website
- Legacy Recordings Official Site
- [//www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_91S_h5BPa_oy0NR1B9_KTZIHF1isbPW Documentary of The Clash] on YouTube by Google Play
- The Clash: London Calling exhibit
References
- Clash star Strummer dies Entertainment, BBC News World Edition, 27 December 2002, retrieved 20 November 2007^
- The Clash by The Edge Rolling Stone Issue 946, 15 April 2004, retrieved 15 September 2017^
- Luke Crampton, Dafydd Rees. The Q Book of Punk Legends Guinness Publishing Ltd, 1996^