The Clash

The Clash was a British punk band that was active between 1976 and 1986. The group was one of the most important and iconic of the first wave of punk that originated in the late 1970s and, unlike most punk bands that were characterized by their musical simplicity, ^{[citation needed]} incorporated reggae, rock, rockabilly, ska, rhythm and blues, jazz, funk and dub among other varied styles in their repertoire. The Clash became a very influential band in world music.

In addition to this, The Clash exhibited a political intention in their lyrics that over time would become their fundamental distinctive characteristic. The idealism expressed in the compositions of Joe Strummer and Mick Jones contrasted with the nihilism of the Sex Pistols and the simplicity of the Ramones, the other emblematic bands of punk at the time. Although their success in the United Kingdom was immediate, the band did not It won over the American public until the 1980s.

Their third album, London Calling (published in 1979), is considered one of the best albums in the history of commercial music. In fact, Billboard magazine called it the best of the 1980s, and according to Rolling Stone magazine it was the eighth best in history on its list of the 500 best albums of all time. where two other albums by the group also appear, The Clash and Sandinista!, in positions no. 77 and no. 404 respectively.

Some of his most recognized songs were "Police & Thieves', 'White Riot', 'Tommy Gun', 'London Calling', 'I Fought the Law', "Train in Vain", "(White Man) In Hammersmith Palais", "The Guns of Brixton", "Complete Control", "Rock the Casbah" and 'Should I Stay or Should I Go'. This last song was a great success 6 years after the group's dissolution due to its use in a Levi's advertising campaign.

In 2003 they were inducted into the Rock Hall of Fame located in Ohio, United States. A year later, Rolling Stone included them in position #28 of "The Immortals".

Over time, the nickname once attributed by his record label CBS Records, "the only band that matters" (in Spanish "the only band that matters") to refer to them. The application of the same refers to the fact that the group never deviated from its ideals or its customs to seek personal benefits.

History

1976-1978: training and first successes in the United Kingdom

The band got its start on Ladbroke Grove street, west London, in 1976, during the beginnings of British punk. It was originally formed by Joe Strummer (vocals), Mick Jones (guitar and backing vocals), Paul Simonon (bass), Keith Levene (guitar) and Terry Chimes (drums), credited on their first album as "Tory Crimes" presumably due to the discontent of the other members with his political ideas (in Spanish "crimes" means "crimes", while Tory is a word in British English to define a conservative).

Mick Jones, Paul Simonon and Terry Chimes had originally been part of the group London SS and Joe Strummer had participated since May 1974 in the group The 101'ers. Thanks to the advice of the band's manager, Bernie Rhodes, the first three recruited Strummer after seeing him with his group in a live performance telling him in literal words: "you're good, but your group is shit" Levene never recorded with the band since he left the group before the release of the first album, but he is co-author of "What's my Name" along with the songwriting duo, and later, he became a member of Public Image Ltd., led by John Lydon, former lead singer of the Sex Pistols. Jones acknowledged years later that he was kicked out of the group for not attending rehearsals. The name "The Clash" (in Spanish: "the conflict") was suggested by Simonon after having read the word repeatedly in the same newspaper.

On July 4, 1976, The Clash played for the first time supporting the Sex Pistols at a concert in Sheffield where the band performed the songs "Janie Jones", "London&# 39;s Burning" and "1977", showing a pure punk style with almost zero musical diversity. After the recital, the NME magazine published a phrase that would eventually become famous:

The Clash are the kind of garage band who should speedly be returned to their garage, preferably with the door locked and the motor running.

The Clash is the kind of garage band that should quickly return to your garage, preferably with the closed door and the engine running.

Charles Shaar Murray

Then, in the European autumn of that year, the group signed for a total of approximately £100,000 with the CBS Records label, one of the most prestigious at the time, generating discontent among some fans and leading to another remembered phrase:

Punk died the day The Clash signed to CBS.

The punk died the day The Clash signed with CBS.

Mark Perry

In November of that same year Chimes decided to leave the group, however, he would temporarily return a few months later to record the band's first album. In December of that year, and with Rob Harper replacing Chimes on drums, The Clash joined the Sex Pistols and The Damned for the disastrous Anarchy Tour that was canceled after only seven shows.

Already in 1977, the group released its first single, "White Riot", in March and a month later the first self-titled LP was released, The Clash, characterized for musical rawness and political, social and aggressive lyrics. The album achieved considerable success in the United Kingdom, but Epic Records, the record label responsible for the band in the United States, did not release it in the first instance in the American market as it was considered too raw and rude. Two more years Later, and after the album became the most imported in the history of the United States, a modified version of it was issued for those lands usually called The Clash US.

After the first album, Terry Chimes permanently left the group due to personal differences with the rest of the members, thus beginning a search process for a drummer that ended with the incorporation of Topper Headon in May 1977. Years later, Headon He admitted that he had joined the group looking for reputation and then finding a more prestigious band to play in, but over time, and seeing the musical progress of The Clash, he decided to stay permanently.

Finally, in May of that year the group embarked on their first world tour, together with Buzzcocks and The Jam, which they called White Riot Tour and which included concerts in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Sweden, France and Germany.

During the tour and recording of their first album, The Clash began to form a conflictive image, with its members arrested for vandalism and for shooting sparrows that perched in their rehearsal room with compressed air rifles (the song "Guns on the Roof" from their second album deals with the topic in question).

1978-1982: international success

The band's second album, Give 'Em Enough Rope, was produced by Sandy Pearlman and featured Headon's participation on all songs for the first time. After seeing the drummer in action, the producer was surprised by his timing perfection and nicknamed him The Human Drum Machine (in Spanish: The Human Drum Machine ). The album was issued to the United Kingdom in 1978 and, despite receiving negative reviews from 'experts', was successful with the British public.

Give 'Em Enough Rope was The Clash's first official work to be released for the United States, which is why the band undertook its first tour of North American lands to promote it. in early 1979. Later that year the altered version of their first album, The Clash US, mentioned previously, was issued.

Their third album, London Calling, a double album sold for the price of one at the band's insistence, was also issued in 1979 and marked the point of greatest critical success and commercial inflection in the United States of the group. Initially, it was viewed with suspicion by British Clash fans as the double albums were associated with progressive rock and not punk. On London Calling the band experimented with a wide range of musical styles such as American rockabilly, Jamaican reggae, and the dub and ska styles popular in Britain. The album is considered by critics to be one of the best in rock history and was ranked eighth by Rolling Stone magazine on its list of the 500 best albums of all time, first on its list of the best albums of the 1980s and fourth by Q Magazine in its list of the 100 best British albums in history. The style of the lyrics on the cover of London Calling is a tribute to the first Elvis Presley's album while the photo used shows Paul Simonon banging his bass on the floor at a New York show that same year. According to Simonon, who initially did not want the photo to be used for the album cover, it was the only time he broke an instrument on stage. Ironically, the album's most successful song, "Train in Vain (Stand by Me)" which reached number 23 on the US charts, had not originally been included in London Calling since the band had planned to issue it as a flexi disc in the magazine NME. However, at the last minute and by decision of Mick Jones, it was added as a hidden track.

Later, towards the end of 1980, The Clash released a triple album which they called Sandinista!, a name used to refer to the Sandinista National Liberation Front of Nicaragua. Once again, members insisted that it be sold at the price of one, paying the difference out of their own pockets by giving up part of their profits.

Sandinista! showcased an even wider and more experimental variety of styles than London Calling and was met with mixed reactions from critics and fans. During the sessions the group recorded every idea they had at the time, moving away from punk and resorting to experimentation with dub ("One More Time"), jazz ("Look Here"), hip hop ("The Magnificent Seven"), chamber music ("Rebel Waltz") and gospel ("Hitsville UK" and "The Sound of the Sinners"). Like their previous material, Sandinista! was successful in sales, which is not common for triple albums. After the release of the album, The Clash embarked on their first world tour that included shows in places as far away as East Asia and Australia.

During these years, tensions and conflicts within the band began to create rumors of separation. The tours, fame and constant coexistence gave no rest, revealing certain roughness within the group. However, The Clash managed to record more and thus issue their best-selling album around the world, Combat Rock. On this album were the successful songs "Rock the Casbah" and 'Should I Stay or Should I Go', the latter the only one to reach first place on the UK singles chart, although nine years after its broadcast and thanks to its use in an advertisement.

1982-1983: conflicts and separation

Just at the time when the band was most successful was when everything slowly began to disintegrate. A few days before the departure of Combat Rock, Topper Headon was expelled from the band due to the strong heroin addiction he had, which was affecting his health and therefore his way of playing the drums. The Clash's original drummer, Terry Chimes, replaced him for the coming months.

The problem was also evident in the conflict that arose between Jones and Strummer, despite the belief that Bernie Rhodes was the one who created friction between the two to force Jones, whom he considered arrogant, to leave the band. During these years, despite continuing to tour and act as support for The Who in 1982, the members maintained a distant relationship. In fact, the original UK tour dates for Combat Rock were canceled because Strummer disappeared shortly before the start of the shows without warning.

Chimes left the band after the Combat Rock tour during 1982 and 1983, convinced that internal fights would cause them to break up shortly. In 1983, and after a long search for a new drummer, Pete Howard was chosen to play with the trio. That same year The Clash played at the San Bernardino, California festival where they were, along with David Bowie and Van Halen, one of the main bands. With approximately 500,000 people attending the show, this live performance was, by far, the most attended in the band's history. In addition to this, that was the last concert that Mick Jones played with The Clash.

In September 1983, Strummer and Simonon, supported by Rhodes, removed Mick Jones from the group, arguing that they were dissatisfied with his problematic behavior, his different musical aspirations and his "stardom blindness.

After a series of auditions, the band announced that Nick Sheppard and Vince White would be the new guitarists. Howard continued to be the drummer, although there was speculation that Headon or Chimes might return to replace him.^{[citation needed]}

1984-1986: Cut the Crap and the end of The Clash

In January 1984, The Clash began playing live with the new members on a self-financed tour to showcase their new material, which they called Out of Control. On this tour they presented new songs such as The Dictator, Three Card Trick, Sex Mad War, This Is England and others, of which the vast majority ended up appearing later on the album Cut the Crap. The tour It lasted from winter to early summer of that year.^{[citation needed]}

During one of the concerts in December 1984, which was for the benefit of the striking miners (they had suffered repression by the police, in a protest against Thatcher), Joe Strummer announced that the following year they were going to release the new album.^{[citation required]}

In early 1985 they began to slowly prepare what would be the next album, which would be released almost at the end of the year. Before the arrival of the month of May, the band's manager Bernie Rhodes and Joe Strummer organized what would become the Busking Tour, in which the band began a street tour, carrying only money and acoustic guitars. In this way, they traveled to many parts of the United Kingdom (Nottingham, Leeds, Sunderland, York, Newcastle, Edinburgh and Glasgow) singing acoustic versions of their songs and doing covers. Being street music, they sang in parks, bars, train stations and even on the same street.^{[citation required]}

The Busking Tour ended on May 18. After they arrived in Manchester and tried to play, but they couldn't because Joe Strummer lost his voice.^{[citation needed]}

This Tour lasted 15 days and was classified by all the members of the band as the best experience they had, because they never knew where they were going to go the next day, or where they would sleep. This would lead to even fans ending up inviting the band to their house to stay the night. The band also bought food with the money they received from people.^{[citation required]}

The recording sessions for Cut the Crap followed shortly after, these were chaotic, with Bernie Rhodes and Strummer working separately from the rest of the members in Munich, Germany. Most of the parts were recorded by different musicians in recording sessions, Paul Simonon does not appear on any of the album's final recordings, while Sheppard and White only traveled to fill in some guitar parts. Drummer Howard did not participate in any songs on the album, this is because he was completely replaced by drum machine. ^{[ citation needed ]}

Strummer, disappointed to see how the album was developing and some of the final results of the songs, declined to continue his participation in the project, and argued and even attempted to legally stop Rhodes from releasing the album, which he was unable to do. since it was very late.^{[citation required]}

In July, after a series of festivals in Europe, the band played their last show ever at the "Rock in Athens" in Athens. Some time later Strummer traveled to Spain to clarify his ideas regarding the future and upon returning he decided to dissolve the band. ^{[ citation needed ]}

During his departure, the first single from Cut the Crap, "This is England", was issued, to mainly negative reviews. The song, as well as the rest of the album (which went on sale on November 4 of that same year) was repudiated by fans and music critics around the world.^{[citation needed ]}

Post-Clash careers

Joe Strummer

In 1986, Strummer collaborated with his former bandmate Mick Jones on his band Big Audio Dynamite's second album, No. 10 Upping St., co-producing it and co-composing seven of the songs. Additionally, Joe acted in a few films, including Walker by Alex Cox, Mystery Train by Jim Jarmusch, and I Hired a Contract Killer by Aki Kaurismäki. Strummer also collaborated in the composition, production and performance of the soundtracks for the films Sid and Nancy and Grosse Pointe Blank. In 1989, he returned to the music scene by releasing his first solo album, Earthquake Weather, which did not have much commercial or critical success. Even so, he toured with a new support band, The Latino Rockabilly War, and released the single "Trash City" with it. In 1991 he temporarily joined The Pogues as vocalist after Shane MacGowan left for a series of gigs in Europe.

Finally, in the late 1990s Strummer gathered a group of top musicians to form the band The Mescaleros. Soon, the group signed with the Californian punk label Hellcat Records (a subsidiary of Epitaph) and issued the album Rock Art and the X-Ray Style. Later, The Mescaleros released Global a Go-Go in 2001 and went on a world tour to promote it, playing some Clash classics as well as the song 'Blitzkrieg Bop' in many of their shows.; by Ramones in honor of the recently deceased Joey Ramone.

On November 15, 2002, Joe Strummer & the Mescaleros played a benefit concert for London's volunteer firefighters at Acton Town Hall. During the show, Mick Jones, who was among the spectators, joined the group to play the songs "Bankrobber", "White Riot" and "London's Burning" thus meeting both creative leaders of The Clash on stage for the first time in approximately 19 years. Shortly after, on November 22, Joe Strummer played for the last time at the Liverpool Academy.

In December 2002, Joe Strummer died of undiagnosed congenital heart failure at the age of 50. The album he was working on with The Mescaleros, Streetcore, was released posthumously in 2003 to good reviews. In addition to the misfortune itself, Strummer's death was a hard blow for fans of The Clash since Jones later commented that after the members' brief meeting to record the documentary Westway to the World in 1999 had been considering a meeting that by 2001 seemed more than likely.

Mick Jones

After his expulsion from The Clash, Jones formed Big Audio Dynamite, usually known as B.A.D., in 1984. The band's debut album, This Is Big Audio Dynamite, was issued the following year with the song "E=MC²" achieving considerable success among the British public. The group's next material, No. 10 Upping St.marked Jones' reunion with Strummer. After three more albums, Jones changed the lineup and renamed the band Big Audio Dynamite II at first and Big Audio in the mid-90s. Jones also produced The Libertines' first two studio albums as well as Babyshambles' debut album. Since 2003 he has been part of Carbon / Silicon alongside his former London SS partner and former Generation X member Tony James.

Paul Simonon

After the breakup of The Clash, Simonon formed the group Havana 3 A.M. who recorded his first album in Japan in 1991 receiving good reviews. Following the death of Havana 3 A.M. singer Nigel Dixon, Simonon returned to his first interest, visual art, contributing among other things to the cover of BAD's third album, Tighten Up Vol. 88. >. In 2006 the bassist returned to musical activity by joining the group The Good, the Bad & the Queen formed by Blur and Gorillaz Damon Albarn, former The Verve Simon Tong and former Fela Kuti drummer Tony Allen.

Topper Headon

Headon's severe addiction to heroin not only prevented him from continuing in the music industry but also led him to be found guilty of having supplied heroin to an addict who died of an overdose due to his use. As a consequence, the drummer had to serve a year in prison. Except for the R&B style album Waking Up that he released in 1986 and the EP Drumming Man, Topper did not appear on the music scene again until the members reunited for recording Don Letts' documentary Westway to the World where he apologized for the negative effects his addiction had caused on relationships within the band. After many years fighting against drugs, Topper Headon finally overcame his problem and returned to playing live. In fact, it was immediately after one of his recitals that he learned of Joe Strummer's death in 2002.

Other members

Terry Chimes

Chimes played in several bands after his first and second stints in The Clash. Among them, his participation in Black Sabbath and Hanoi Rocks stands out for a few years in the mid-80s. He eventually retired from the music world to become a chiropractor.

Keith Levene

After leaving The Clash, Levene formed Public Image Ltd. with former Sex Pistols John Lydon (aka Johnny Rotten). He initially played guitar in the group but, over time, began experimenting with the use of synthesizers. In 1983 he left the band after an altercation with Lydon and has since worked solo.

Pete Howard

Howard was in the Fiction Records band Eat before forming Vent 414 with Miles Hunt in 1996. In 2002 he joined Queenadreena.

Nick Sheppard

Between 1986 and 1989 Sheppard collaborated with Gareth Sager in the band Head, but their three albums had little commercial success. Since then he has been in different groups such as the Australian Heavy Smokers and New Egyptian Kings.

Vince White

White had no major public appearances since The Clash broke up until his book Out of Control: The Last Days of The Clash was released in 2007, describing the band's final years..

Politics

Like many early punk bands, The Clash protested monarchy and aristocracy. However, unlike most of these, the group rejected nihilism and did not profess anarchy, for which they were harshly criticized by very influential bands on the scene such as Crass and Angelic Upstarts. On the other hand, they found support from a large number of contemporary liberation movements. His political ideas were expressed explicitly in the lyrics of his early compositions such as "White Riot", which encouraged white youth to be as politically active as their black peers, "Career Opportunities" #34;, which expressed discontent over the lack of job alternatives in England mired in the recession of the time, and "London's Burning", which was about political complacency.

In 1978 in "Rock against racism" (Rock Against Racism) organized by the Anti-Nazi league, Strummer wore a controversial t-shirt with the words "Red Brigades" (Brigate Rosse) and the insignia of the Red Army Fraction (Rote Armee Fraktion) in the middle. He later admitted that the reason why he wore that shirt was not to support the far-left armed organizations of Germany and Italy, but rather it was to draw public attention to the existence of the band.

The group also supported solidarity concerts by other musicians such as, for example, the "Concert for the people of Cambodia" (Concerts for the People of Kampuchea) from December 1979, devised by Paul McCartney.

The Clash offered support to the Sandinista National Liberation Front and other socialist movements in Latin America, in fact their 1980 album is called Sandinista! That same album is the most politicized of all of the band with the clear criticism of imperialism in the songs "The Call Up", "Washington Bullets" and "Charlie Don't Surf".

By December 1979, when London Calling was broadcast, the band was attempting to maintain their signature punk energy while developing musically. In addition, they were very cautious of their emerging stardom since they always deigned to receive fans after their concerts and were interested in maintaining an excellent relationship with them.

The Clash is credited with being the pioneers in supporting radical policies from punk rock other than anarchism. Furthermore, they are recognized as having never prioritized money; Even at the peak of his popularity, tickets to his concerts were sold at reasonable prices. In addition to this, the group insisted their record company sell both the double album London Calling and the triple album Sandinista! at the price of a single album, which they achieved in the second case. after giving up his personal profits.

Legacy

Influence

The Clash has been musically, and due to its political activism, a central influence for a large number of bands and performers of both punk and rock in general as well as other varied genres. Among the most notable are U2 (particularly Bono who described it as "the best rock band" and The Edge who described their live performances as "a life-changing experience" 34;), Pearl Jam (particularly Eddie Vedder and Jeff Ament), Arctic Monkeys, Public Enemy (particularly Chuck D), The Strokes and Rage Against the Machine. In 1999 the tribute album was issued. Burning London (which had mostly negative reviews) where No Doubt, Ice Cube, Rancid, Third Eye Blind, Indigo Girls, Moby and Heather Nova, among others, covered the group's songs. In 2006 the box set Singles Box was released, which included an extensive booklet where several musical performers, such as Steve Jones, Damon Albarn (Blur), Shane MacGowan, Pete Townshend, Carl Barât and Bernard Sumner, or others Well-known figures, such as novelists Irvine Welsh and Nick Hornby as well as film director Danny Boyle, expressed their admiration for the British band. The Clash's influence on Green Day is seen in songs such as 'Welcome to Paradise';. They also learned from the group, since Green Day and The Clash started with punk and later more genres emerged. The Clash's move with London Calling and Sandinista! gave Green Day the push to experiment with Nimrod. In Spain, The Clash's footprint was fundamental in the music developed by groups like Wom! A2, 091 (which Joe Strummer produced) or PVP, all of them groups that, although they accepted the influence of the British group, also distanced themselves from it by contributing a personal vision. He was also one of the main influences for the Basque group Kortatu, who did a version of his song "Jimmy Jazz"; as well as the renowned French group Mano Negra led by singer-songwriter Manu Chao; as well as for the emblematic Chilean band Los Prisioneros, who frequently cite the album "Sandinista!" as the main influence for the making of his first album La Voz de los 80

Recognition

The Clash was included in position 28 of the 100 best artists in history according to Rolling Stone magazine.

On March 10, 2003, The Clash was inducted into the Rock Hall of Fame.

Most successful songs

On the list of the 500 greatest songs according to Rolling Stone magazine, London Calling is at number 8 (the highest for a punk band), Should I Stay Or Should I Go at number 228, Train In Vain at 298, Complete Control at 371 and White Man In Hammersmith Palais at 437.

In addition, London Calling was included at number 48 of the 100 best guitar songs according to Rolling Stone magazine.

Most successful albums

In the list of the 500 greatest albums according to Rolling Stone magazine, London Calling is in position 8 (the highest for a punk band), The Clash i> in 77 and Sandinista! in 404.

London Calling had been chosen by Rolling Stone magazine as the best album of the '80s.

Members

Classic lineup

• Joe Strummer - vocal, guitar (May 1976-1986, Dec 2002)
• Mick Jones - guitar, voice (May 1976-September 1983)
• Paul Simonon - bass (May 1976-1986)
• Topper Headon - Battery (May 1977-May 1982)

Other members

• Keith Levene - guitar (1976)
• Nick Sheppard - guitar (1983-1986)
• Vince White - guitar (1983-1986)
• Rob Harper - Battery (1976-1977)
• Terry Chimes - Battery (1976-1977, 1982-1983)
• Pete Howard - Battery (1983-1986)

Timeline

Official discography

• The Clash (1977)
• Give 'Em Enough Rope (1978)
• London Calling (1979)
• Sandinista! (1980)
• Combat Rock (1982)
• Cut the Crap (1985)

Filmography

Tours