Revolution Rock
To speak of one of the most musically influential and political alternative rock bands of all time, we're going to have to go back a little bit; back to a time before the Backstreet Boys and text messaging. We're going way back, to the year the CN Tower was constructed, the very same year Baby Spice and a little piece of S Club were born. But don't get me wrong, this year wasn't all free-standing towers and pop stars-to-be; it also included the very first record release of The Ramones (a self-titled, now-essential album to any rock fan), the release of The Eagles' album Hotel California and the publication of English punk rock band The Sex Pistols. This was the year of a great musical breakthrough, in a decade of a fast-paced, fast-growing alternative music scene.
Yes folks, we're talking 1976.
In the original wave of British punk rock music many still famous groups were formed, one of the most prominent being English alternative punk group The Clash. As was expected at the time, The Clash went through about ten different members throughout their ten-year career as a group, the main members being lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Joe Strummer, lead guitarist Mick Jones, bassist Paul Simonon and percussionist Topper Headon. As mentioned previously, another punk group of the time was The Sex Pistols, with whom The Clash collaborated closely during their beginning years.
With help from Sex Pistols members Glen Matlock and Steve Jones, Mick Jones and other temporary bandmates tried out potential members, eventually deciding on Paul Simonon, Keith Levene and Terry Chimes as the additional band members. Since the band was still looking out for a lead vocalist, manager Bernard Rhodes had his eye on a member of The 101'ers, John Graham Mellor, later calling himself Joe Strummer.
After merely a month of rehearsal with Strummer doing lead vocals, The Clash made their debut, supporting The Sex Pistols, not playing another show for 5 weeks, dedicating the time to intense rehearsals and songwriting. Their next show was for an invitation-only audience, located in their studio. Among those attending was Sounds Magazine critic Giovanni Dadamo, who described them as a "runaway train."
Very soon afterwards, they lost their first member, Keith Levene, who was kicked out of the band, according to Strummer, due to a lack of interest in the band and an increasing use of speed. Skip ahead two years, where Levene and Johnny Rotten (of the Sex Pistols) formed Public Image Ltd. (commonly known as PiL). But, we should stay in the right time frame here. After Levene's dismissal from The Clash, they played their first show sans-Keith, with The Sex Pistols. Soon afterwards, drummer Terry Chimes left as well but he was temporarily replaced during the December's Anarchy Tour with The Sex Pistols.
By 1977, the punk scene was receiving major media attention in the U.K., and January 25th of 1977 The Clash signed to CBS records for £100,000 (about $180,588 Canadian), an almost unthinkable amount for a band that had only played about thirty shows (if even that many), to much criticism and opinion. Mark Perry, the founder of the leading London punk journal, Sniffin' Glue said that "punk died the day The Clash signed to CBS."
As most debut punk rock albums, the debut album of The Clash was self-titled. As well as being self-titled, the album was also produced by the band's former techie Mickey Foote. For the recording of the album, Terry Chimes was recruited as drummer, but left after the initial recording and was credited as 'Tory Crimes' as he had no intention of making a career of music in the first place. Unlike most debut punk albums, The Clash was a huge success in the U.K., with the first single, White Riot, reaching number 34 on U.K. charts. The Clash's cover of reggae song Police and Thieves foreshadowed the many multi-genred turns the band would take throughout their career.
Since Chimes had no intention of re-joining the band, they went through many drummers in this period, Jones taking over for a short time. Soon afterwards, they finally enlisted Nicky Headon, nicknamed 'Topper' by Paul Simonon. Headon, an extremely talented musician, had originally intended to stay with The Clash until he made a name for himself before joining a better band, though he later changed his mind, seeing the growing success of The Clash.
In May of 1977, The Clash headlined the White Riot Tour, with supporting punk acts The Buzzcocks, Subway Sect, The Slits and The Prefects, where, after a show in Newcastle, Strummer and Headon were arrested for stealing pillowcases from their hotel room.
The band's first recording with new drummer Topper Headon was the single Complete Control, released in late 1977, which rose to number 28 on the British charts and is now cited as one of the greatest punk singles. In early 1977, the single Clash City Rockers was released and, later that year, the alternativeska single (White Man) in Hammersmith Palais. For The Clash's second album, the label requested a cleaner sound, to appeal more to American audiences; while the album (Give 'Em Enough Rope) reached number 2 on the British chart, it only reached 128 on the Billboard Chart. With the release of this album, The Clash undertook their first, hugely successful, tour of the United States.
Between 1979 and 1982, The Clash released their three most successful albums, London Calling, Sandinista! and Combat Rock, exploring many different musical styles, including (but not limited to) punk rock, reggae, rap, ska, rockabilly and traditional rock and roll. The album London Calling is still considered one of the greatest rock albums ever recorded and the single Train in Vain ended up being their first US Top 40 hit, reaching number 23.
Sandinista! was The Clash's most controversial album, both politically and musically, featuring reggae, jazz, mock gospel, rockabilly, folk, dub, rhythm and blues, calypso, and rap and more than 20 guest musicians, while displaying an extremely strong siding with the leftist movements at the time. The album Combat Rock, released in 1982, had four singles, and was the last album to feature the four main members of the band (Mick Jones was dismissed from the band, as well as Topper Headon, for his heroin addiction). This album was certified platinum and charted at number 2 in the UK and at number 7 in the US. As well as being, overall, The Clash's most successful album, Combat Rock also held their only number one single, Should I Stay or Should I Go, and was one of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
After the departure of Headon and Jones, The Clash began to fall apart, releasing one, not particularly successful, album entitled Cut the Crap, where drum machines, synthesizers and studio musicians played much of the music. They officially disbanded in 1986, though Strummer and Jones continued to collaborate in their respective projects. Simonon went on to form a band called Havana 3am, Headon recorded a solo album and Chimes continued to drum for several other acts.
In March of 2003, The Clash was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, only a few months after Strummer's death. Members Joe Strummer, Topper Headon, Paul Simonon, Terry Chimes and Mick Jones were all inducted, and Rolling Stone Magazine ranked The Clash number 30 in their 100 Greatest Artists of All Time list.
But, the Clash's legacy did not end with their disbandment; their influence, musical and political, can be heard in many American political punk bands such as Anti-Flag, Rancid and Manic Street Preachers. The music and attitude of this band contributed hugely to the growth, evolution and ideas of modern punk, ska and alternative music, while their own music will always be uniquely The Clash.
