The Clash – The Last Gang in Town
The greatest of all the punk rock bands, The Clash. They had everything, the music, the look and most importantly the right attitude and right on politics.
The band comprised Joe Strummer on vocals and guitar, Mick Jones on lead guitar, Paul Simenon on bass and Topper Headon on drums. Topper was a very versatile drummer. Joe had the political vision, Mick wanted to be a rock star and Paul was the style and design director.
The first self-titled album (1977) has the back cover depicting a riot in Notting Hill and includes so many important songs of which my pick would be Police and Thieves, London’s Burning, Janie Jones and White Riot. Back in ’77, the diehard punks were complaining that they had sold out signing to CBS, but this album and singles such as Complete Control and Clash City Rockers proved them wrong.
The perceived view at the time was that ‘Give ‘Em Enough Rope’ (1978) was a disappointment and using Sandy Pearlman to produce was a bad move as he was more at home with the likes of Blue Oyster Cult. However you do get Safe European Home and Stay Free, which is Mick Jones finest hour. They also found time to make one of their most incredible singles, White Man in the Hammersmith Palais, with it’s positive political message against the rising tide of right wing parties in the U.K. They also released ‘The Cost of Living‘ EP (1979) with a cover of I Fought the Law that became a live favourite.
The next album had to be a total banger, so they headed into the studio with the decidedly eccentric Guy Stevens who was a legendary figure in the 1960s, and made what is often cited as one of the greatest albums of all time: ‘London Calling’ (1979). This record had the iconic front cover of Paul Simonon smashing his bass, and the typography and design was the same as Elvis Presley‘s first album. The record had some incredible tunes including Lost in the Supermarket, Train in Vain and the song with which they are most associated, London Calling. At the time the group made sure that although this was a double album, it retailed as a single.
Next came ‘Sandinista!‘ (1980), which is a mess. I have read several articles trying to claim it a lost classic, but unfortunately this is not the case, although The Magnificent Seven and Police On My Back are great songs. If it had been condensed into a double album and not a triple, it would have been a lot more coherent.
‘Combat Rock‘ (1982) is the last proper album and includes such gems as Know Your Rights, Should I Stay or Should I Go and Straight to Hell. This also broke them in America and they toured the enormodomes with The Who, although they still played I’m So Bored With The USA off the first album.
Around this time in 1982 the band started to fragment and Topper Headon was kicked out to be replaced by Terry Chimes. Joe Strummer also went awol for a time but rejoined after being found in Paris. Then, and to his lasting regret Joe Strummer allowed Bernie Rhodes who was managing them again at the time to persuade him to sack Mick Jones. They hired 2 other guitarists and stumbled on to make the dreadful Cut The Crap (1985). Their last concerts saw them busking outside Manic Street Preachers gigs.
They had a lasting effect on me with their no-nonsense approach, righteous politics and some of the best songs ever written. I saw them live several times and the Combat Rock Tour was the best. Back on the White Riot Tour in ’77 they had played in a nearby town and had incited a mini riot with seats being smashed. They had been banned from playing White Riot, so of course when they hit the stage they blasted into White Riot. I spent the whole concert at the front shouting out all the lyrics as they played hit after hit with the audience pogoing along.
In the current climate it is difficult to remember just how important they were- they were the last of their kind and unfortunately the untimely death of Joe Strummer stopped any reunion. Many bands have tried to emulate them but they truly were the last gang in town. However their legacy remains with four albums of incomparable music.
My abiding memory is of the first gig I saw, with smashed seats flying in the air silhouetted by the lights while the band charged through White Riot.
by Simon Neville-Jones