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11-27 Zane Lowe's Masterpieces
11-10 London Calling Legacy Edition
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Punk, Reggae, Ska |
The Clash are often claimed to be one of the greatest rock/punk bands of all time. They formed in 1976, after
Joe Strummer left the R&B pub-rock band the 101'ers to join Mick Jones, formerly of the proto-punk band
London SS with Paul Simonon. The band originally had guitarist Keith Levine, but he soon left (He would go on
to play with John Lydon in PiL). They then recruited drummer Terry Chimes, who left the band during the
recording of their first full length LP, "The Clash", released only in the UK. Topper Headon, often called "The
Human Drum Machine," was recruited to drum permanently ...read more
The Clash are often claimed to be one of the greatest rock/punk bands of all time. They formed in 1976, after
Joe Strummer left the R&B pub-rock band the 101'ers to join Mick Jones, formerly of the proto-punk band
London SS with Paul Simonon. The band originally had guitarist Keith Levine, but he soon left (He would go on
to play with John Lydon in PiL). They then recruited drummer Terry Chimes, who left the band during the
recording of their first full length LP, "The Clash", released only in the UK. Topper Headon, often called "The
Human Drum Machine," was recruited to drum permanently.
The Clash went on to produce "Give 'Em Enough Rope" is 1978, and showed the group's growth and
contained some Clash classics such as Tommy Gun and Safe European Home. The important factor with the
album though, was that The Clash had broken onto the American Market, even though some old fans
critisized the band for this decision. The band then started to tour in the United States for the first time as
well, with little help from their label, CBS. In 1979, after re-releasing their self titled debut with some changes,
their testament to rock for all time, "London Calling" was released. The album was a mixture of many styles,
and showed growth in the band's sound and lyrics. The album was voted the best of the 80s by Rolling Stone,
and the 8th greatest album of all time. The album has sold in excess of 3 million units, proving to be their
most succesful and influential record to this day.
The Clash soon went on to produced the 3 LP, sprawling and messy "Sandinista!," and the commercialy
accessible, but still rather good "Combat Rock" featuring their first Top 10 U.S. Single "Should I Stay or
Should I Go". Afterwards, Topper Headon was kicked out of the band for frequent drug problems, and later
Mick Jones was kicked out, citing his problematic behavious for cause. Former drummer Terry Chimes filled in
temporarily, but never did any new recording, just played the support tour but again left soon afterwards, not
being able to deal witht he gowring tension between the band.
Joe Strummer and Paul Simonon went on, hiring drummer Pete Howard and a few other younger musicians.
They recorded the meandering, and dissmissed "Cut the Crap", released in 1985, the same year Mick's new
band Big Audio Dynamite, released their debut album. Most fans don't even recognize Cut The Crap as an
album by the Clash, and the band officially broke up in 1986, although fans realized the band was done before
then.
Many members of The Clash moved onto different projects, including Mick with his new band Big Audio
Dynamite (BAD), Paul started a short lived reggae/rock band called Havana 3am, and Joe would appear in
movies, recording music for soundtracks, and released a solo album in 1989 titled "Earthquake Weather".
Strummer made his real comback in the late nineties with his new band The Mescaleros, which would be cut
short by Joe's tragic and untimely death in December of 2002. The Clash's legacy carries on as bringing
integrity to punk, as well as being one of few bands from the 70's British punk explosion to move beyond the
slums of London to become a respected band world-wide.
The Clash were inducted to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in March of 2003, just months after Strummer's
death. Today, Mick Jones has a current band called Carbon/Silicon with Tony James, while Paul is a painter and
is part of Damon Albarn's latest band The Good, The Bad & The Queen playing bass. « hide |
Similar Bands: The 101'ers, Joe Strummer and The Mescaleros, Big Audio Dynamite, Sex Pistols, Ramones
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