The Clash

The start looked very different. Mick Jones had originally been in the legendary proto-punk band London SS with Brian James and Tony James as the longest serving members and a succession of drummers and other band members. A band driven more by look and attitude (well Mick was a glam Mott The Hoople look) than the right ability; an ethos that Tony James would continue with Generation X. Mick and Tony was well aware of the Sex Pistols and had even visited them at rehearsals in Denmark Street and saw them as competition. Their manager was Bernie Rhodes, but more on him later.

With Mick still looking for a band he met Keith Levene (a YES roadie and guitar prodigy), later of Flowers Of Romance and Public Image Ltd (PIL) and became instant friends and they formed a band.

There’s a couple of different stories/urban myths of how Woody came to join their band but below is just as good as any.

Famously, Levene and Bernard Rhodes, the manager of Jones’ band London SS, convinced Joe Strummer to leave his band the 101ers to join the Clash. “[We] talked Joe into coming over to my squat in Sheppard’s Bush,” explained Levene. “I was playing guitar with him and playing some 101ers tunes. He went, ‘Hey man, I just love you and I love the way you play guitar.’ So I said, ‘Will you do it?’ and we got him in the Clash.” Pitchfork

One of the tryouts from the London SS, who had the looks and attitude but no musical skill, was Paul Simonon. Mick persuaded him to learn the bass (complete with notes painted on). Terry Chimes came from the local pool of musicians.

Bernie Rhodes as we say was in the role of manager. Baffling, enigmatic, and like McLaren, never really in charge. Rhodes came from a Russian/Jewish ghetto in the East End, nursed by the working girls who serviced the American airmen, spending his adolescence in care, …Though Rhodes came from deprivation, McLaren didn’t and nor did Joe Strummer (who went to public school). He owned the Citroen garage next to Rehearsal Rehearsal and dealt in old clothes.

Friend and initial partner with McClaren they had a similar modus operandi of running bands. For Bernie a strong visual and musical identity was foremost and The Clash certainly developed these with him. In between lectures on situationism and Marxist theories, he would critique the songs, boil them back to basics, and challenge them. It was Bernie who found Johnny Rotten, mentored him and encouraged the pre-Rotten band, and came up with the ‘One Day You’ll Wake Up’ T Shirt sold in Sex that aggressively set out their stall on what side of the fence were you on music and personality wise.

All it took now was a name. It could have all been so different if they had stuck with the name The Weak Heartdrops (named after the Big Youth song) or the Psych Negatives! 

The band finally became The Clash, after Simonon kept seeing the word on newspaper hoardings, in March 1976. All were inspired by seeing The Sex Pistols and the music they were making and the boys quickly evolved a separate stance and image that endeared them to what was becoming known as punk fans. Their clothes were sprayed and stenciled with slogans and their hair cut short.

Their first outing was a gig at their rehearsal studios in Camden for journalists and friends which caused Giovanni Dadomo a reviewer for Sounds to opine “I think they’re the first band to come along who’ll really frighten the Sex Pistols shitless.”  

Indeed their first public gig was supporting The Sex Pistols at The Screen On The Green Islington London. Charles Shaar Murray, in a famous quote he regretted and soon after became an ardent supporter, said in the NME The Clash “..are the kind of garage band who should speedily be returned to their garage, preferably with the motor running.” This would inspire the band to write Garageland.

Jones & Strummer were the two lynchpins. Jones in particular was a rock star in the making but they were guitar-heavy. With Levine wanting to play more complex or different sounds, he fell away (particularly it is said after hearing the song White Riot and its lyrics) and was ousted leaving Jones the undisputed lead guitarist.

They played at the 100 Club Punk Festival with the Sex Pistols, Damned, Buzzcocks, Subway Sect and Rhodes famously refused Siouxsie & The Banshees the use of The Clash’s drumkit because of her swastika armband.

More publicity followed their ICA gig though it was the shenanigans of Jane Crockford and Shane O’Hooligan nee McGowan and the punky lovemaking via bloody ear biting that made the headline “Cannibalism at Clash gig” in the NME issue of November 6, 1976.

By Spring 1977 the boys had completed (sic) the Sex Pistols ‘Anarchy’ tour and ushered in 1977 when the two sevens were due to clash (sic) by playing a gig at the newly opened punk club the Roxy Club WC2.

Julien Temple’s film of The Clash at the Roxy Club with Rob Harper on drums

For a while there was a tug of war between Polydor and CBS to sign them and the band made Polydor demos produced by Guy Stevens who was Jones’ nemesis. Mott the Hoople producer Guy Stevens was responsible for not only Mick being sacked from his pre-Clash band Violent Luck (‘Lose the skinny second guitarist!’), but he had also got so wasted that he screwed up the mixes on the band’s 1976 Polydor demos where Strummer was instructed to annunciate his words which made for an interesting version of White Riot.

In the end, Polydor prevaricated and missed the boat and the band signed to CBS. They delivered their first eponymous album The Clash and single White Riot at speed in March and April respectively to critical acclaim. It was an album choc full of raw punk in Strummer’s inimitable often indecipherable vocal delivery, Jones’s guitar flourishes and Simonon’s fluid bass lines and included a cover of Junior Murvin’s Police & Thieves.

Influential Mark P of fanzine Sniffin’ Glue thought it was the death of punk when The Clash signed to the major CBS though loved the album.  CBS themselves thought the record so rough they wouldn’t release it stateside. It did however go to #12 in the UK charts and came complete with an iconic punky cover as the three-piece posed outside Camden stables outside their Rehearsal Rehearsals room because they had just kicked out Terry Chimes.

April saw the music paper NME (New Musical Express) become their unofficial champion and offer a free interview freebie single with the song Capital Radio. The band would feature many more times on the cover. The interview was by enthused journalist newcomer to punk Tony Parsons before he went sour and knifed the whole scene in the back with his little chum Julie Burchill.

Faced with a layoff just after releasing their records, the band auditioned every drummer with a pulse including Pablo Labritain (friend of Joe Strummer’s from school), Phil Rowland, Chris Bashford and even offered the gig to John Moss of London who turned them down ( he thought they were too dirty! ) and they had to bring back Terry for their key headlining Harlesden gig. In support was the newly formed Slits that featured on/off girlfriend of Mick Jones Viv Albertine and Joe’s long-time partner Palmolive.

They finally solved their problem when Topper Headon (Nicholas Bowen Headon – nicknamed by Simonon after the monkey in the Beano) was drafted in on drums after a chance encounter with Mick and him at a gig. The Clash’s PR claimed that Topper (an ex grammar school boy) had never played with a band before but in fact had been with several since school, played German air bases in a soul band and had auditioned for the Pat Travers band and Sparks. He was in a heavy rock/progressive band and had also sat in on jazz bands. It was between him and Mark Laff for the audition. Mark went to Subway Sect and then to Generation X. Topper gave the band a stable line up and critically the ability to play a wide range of music.

The delay in searching for a drummer was frustrating given the speed Punk was moving and the vacuum caused by McLaren refusing to let the Sex Pistols play. With Topper in, they gigged heavily and played another iconic gig at The Rainbow in Finsbury Park London. A highly charged atmosphere of guitars on stun, energy, visuals against a backdrop of stark lighting and the riots at Notting Hill Carnival saw The Clash as an unbeatable proposition. The crowd rioted. 

By now their look had changed from the paint spattered second hand clothes. As Bernie said the tough times ahead needed tough clothes and the band needed a coherent image to match the Pistols and survive the rigours of touring. In true Bernie fashion he engaged an inexperienced seamstress Alex Michon, showed her his ideas and she utilised primary colours (sky blue, blood red, white and jet black) with lines of zips for jackets and trousers and multiple stitched seams to create militaristic punk uniforms. The band members added their own stenciled slogans or phrases. She was paid £25 a week, same as the band and would be involved right through to Combat Rock.

White Riot (April) was followed by Remote Control (May) which was released without their consent but then their record company let them release a song in reply called Complete Control (November) criticising the label with Jamaican reggae legend Lee Scratch Perry at the helm! Regardless it was a classic Clash song and there were many.

In between some ill-advised posing in Northern Ireland the boys ripped it up across the country and across Europe playing at the Mont De Marsan Festival and Bilzen where there was a riot and the band was pelted with bricks.

By 1978 it was all change in punk. New wave and power pop had made their entrances with bands like the Rich Kids. The Sex Pistols & Damned had split and bands were moving on from the ground zero sound and look. The Clash reasserted their punk credentials with the crunching Who I Can’t Explain style  Clash City Rockers in February 1978 but all wasn’t well.

The band was becoming dysfunctional and where previously they were united by sound image and the year zero outlook of punk, they were now reverting back to their pre-Clash characters, Topper stayed the same Simonon in a crew cut and DM’s, Joe in a rockabilly haircut and Mick reverted to long curly hair (he had nearly cried when his locks were shorn for the more punky look) shirts, waistcoats and scarves. His moves on stage were also now more preening rock god. Joe’s illness hadn’t helped contracting hepatitis and he’s split from Palmolive. Mick had also developed a coke use and the band was close to splitting.

They were still the highest profile punk band (apart from The Stranglers) though and they headlined the major Rock Against Racism event in Victoria Park. Never a band with the soundest politics, Joe sported a Brigade Rosse t shirt for the event and they were joined by Jimmy Pursey on stage for White Riot.

The Clash at Rock Against Racism Victoria Park London 1978 with Jimmy Pursey

Despite the band troubles, the band released another arguably greatest single White Man In Hammersmith Palais in June that was supposed to be on the Give ‘Em Enough Rope album and then hit the news for shooting pigeons adding to their list of crimes. Their last one was for stealing pillowcases.

The strange NME feature where they dressed up was pretty symptomatic

More record company shenanigans meant the band were forced to have Blue Oyster Cult producer Sandy Pearlman for their second album. His introduction to the band was a bloody nose from the band’s security backstage when he inadvertently tried to disturb the band in their pre gig quiet period. It was certainly a more polished affair and was the first LP to feature drummer Topper Headon. Coming out in November 1979,  It featured the singles Tommy Gun and Johnny and the classic Stay Free sung by Mick Jones and was voted ‘Album of the Year’ by Sounds (UK), Rolling Stone (US) and Time Magazine (US). Moving away from just the sound of the Westway, the record explored themes of Third World conflict, European terrorism, personal experiences and London inner-city desolation.

It was also another Clash paradox. They were the only band to make a stand against appearing on Top Of The Pops because of the enforced miming. However, in the steps of the Sex Pistols and Pretty Vacant they produced a video of themselves happily ….. well miming to …Tommy Gun.

Their manager Bernie Rhodes himself was preoccupied elsewhere first off with Subway Sect and Braik Records, the label he’d set up to release their single. Then there were the Black Arabs who were managed by Bernie Rhodes and who appeared on the Great Rock N Roll Swindle doing a disco Sex Pistols medley! He also briefly managed ex-Killjoy Kevin Rowlands Dexy’s Midnight Runners and produced their first single Dance Stance and had an interest in the Specials. And add to that the clothing label Updarts that Sebastien Conran gave over part of his large house in Regents Park to mass produce Clash clothes to sell by mail order.

Towards the end of 1978 before Give ‘Em Enough Rope was released it’s no surprise that Bernie Rhodes was sacked as manager and Caroline Coon took over (she designed the limited edition free poster that came inside the record)

In 1979, The Clash like The Police spent a lot of time in the States touring building on the groundwork that their first album had made on grassroots import and Give ‘Em Enough Rope’s delayed release there and repeated touring made them a major attraction.

1979 saw bands like the UK Subs, Skids, Ruts, Members etc all give punk a second wind. For The Clash, America rubbed off on them and they incorporated fashions and haircuts and both old and new music and genres like a sponge. By now they were moving away from the punk pulsebeat in sound but not in spirit. They were also honed and tight musically from all the gigging.

They went into Wessex Studios with a completely clean slate and with Guy Stevens at the production helm. Given his history with the band and Jones, it’s a credit to them that they saw what he could bring with his deep knowledge of music, wide range of influences and his ability to bring out the best in the band. The fact that he was a total rock n roll drugs and booze casualty who had done time probably helped as well though CBS would have shit their pants after Sandy Pearlman.

Many interviews state that he did just the above but also mention it was Mick Jones who took over adding the flourishes and learning his craft when Stevens had passed out from whatever he had consumed. They (The Clash) always credited Stevens though for the album

And what an album and what a cover is London Calling! Like the music inside it’s a nod to the past with the Elvis first album lettering and a fantastic Pennie Smith shot capturing Simonon smashing his bass.

Its lead track set the tone and the video by Don Letts captures the band perfectly. Dark and raining the band dressed in Crombies, dark suits and hats epitomised rock n roll and London. Always more urban and direct than other punk bands, you felt that with the Clash anything was possible and with the arrival of the album London Calling you knew it was and that music had a future. 

Don Letts The thing about the band is that they weren’t stuck in that fast ‘n’ furious guitar thing, they embraced all that the world had to offer and that was reflected in the musical range of ‘London Calling’ and that’s why it captured people’s imaginations. If you listen to the difference between that and the first album, it’s a musical quantum leap, and they redefined what punk could be. That’s another cool thing about it.” Clashmusic.com

The record saw out the seventies and hit #9 in the UK and #27 in the US album charts. The Clash were on their way to becoming superstars and all the trouble that entails.

The Clash famously never reformed and Joe Strummer passing away made that a permanent reality but they remain, along with many other claimants, arguably the greatest rock n roll band.

Joe Strummer (in 1977) None of us is going to change anything. Everyone goes “Punk! Hurrah!” But in three years time what do you think I’m going to be doing? What do you think the guys who buy our singles are going to be doing?? I’ll still be walking around muttering to myself. They are still going to be shovelling shit down some old chute and maybe with their wages they’ll buy The Clash’s fourth album. Rock doesn’t change anything. Caroline Coon, 1988 Punk Explosion

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White Riot / 1977 (March 1977)

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Remote Control / London’s Burning (May 1977)

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Complete Control / City Of The Dead (September 1977)

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Clash City Rockers / Jail Guitar Doors (March 1978)

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White Man In Hammersmith Palais / The Prisoner (June 1978)

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Tommy Gun / 1-2 Crush On You (November 1978)

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English Civil War / Pressure Drop (January 1979)

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I Fought The Law / Gates Of The West / Groovy Times / Capital Radio (May 1979)

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London Calling / Armagideon Time (December 1979)

The Clash – The Clash

What can you say about this album except it should be in everyone’s collection. Everything about it is perfect. Slated for signing with giant CBS Records the boys came up with the goods, in fact knocking out 16 tracks in seven days!

Essentially their live sound; incendiary guitars clash with spat venomous lyrics to bring you the sound of London 1977: Janie Jones, I’m So Bored With The USA, Career Opportunities,  a rawer White Riot , Deny, The London SS’s Protex Blue and of course their take on Junior Murvin’s Police & Thieves. Note the cover taken in Camden  Market as a three piece which they so often were around that time as they auditioned everyone with a living pulse. Terry Chimes (Tory Crimes) had left but stayed on for the recording sessions. 

The Clash – Give ‘Em Enough Rope

The ongoing curious relationship with CBS. Their first album had not been released to the US market by CBS citing its roughness being unlikely to appeal to US AOR audience tastes. So having been slated for signing with CBS they now were required to use the services of producer Sandy Pearlman (more famous for producing bands like Blue Oyster Cult) for their second album. Indeed Alan Lanier from BOC also appears on a track.

It obviously worked. The album was voted album of the year for 1978 by Rolling Stone and Time magazines and reached #2 in the UK album charts.

Armed with a full time drummer now, Topper Headon, they were ready to rock or were they? For me a flawed album I don’t listen too much. However you cannot ague that it has some absolute classics there: Tommy Gun, Safe European Home, English Civil War & Stay Free but so much of the album seems emotionless and devoid of a spark and thats arguably the production. A band in change and next stop would be London Calling.

The critics didn’t mind the album though.

The Clash – London Calling (December 1979)

As if by magic this double album appears with its cover a take on an Elvis album and is perhaps their greatest and most cohesive album apart from their first. It was the beginning of their not ‘so bored’ love affair with the USA and its culture while still retaining a British perspective. The Clash were a punk band, but like The Stranglers, Siouxsie and The Damned, took it in different directions incorporating rockabilly and reggae. The album revealed them as songwriters with sharp lyrical content. Nearly very song is of a high quality. Picks: London Calling, Brand New Cadillac, Spanish Bombs, Guns Of Brixton and Clampdown.…. err well all of it!

The album made them in America and Rolling Stone voted this album #1 of all time saying

Merry and tough, passionate and large-spirited, London Calling celebrates the romance of rock & roll rebellion in grand, epic terms. … It’s so rich and far-reaching that it leaves you not just exhilarated but exalted and triumphantly alive.

You can justifiably apply any superlative to this album.