Sunday 20 July 2008

Sunday night rock 'n' roll

The Clash were an English punk rock band, active from 1976 to 1986, part of the original wave of UK punk. Along with punk rock, they experimented with reggae, funk, rap, dub, rock and roll and rockabilly among other roots music. For most of their recording career, The Clash consisted of Joe Strummer (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Mick Jones (lead guitar, vocals), Paul Simonon (bass, backing vocals) and Nicky "Topper" Headon (drums, percussion). The group disbanded in early 1986, owing to lack of creative control and the loss of Headon in 1982 and Jones in 1983 due to internal friction.

The Clash were a major success in the UK from the release of their debut album. Their third album, London Calling, released in the UK in December 1979, brought them popularity in the United States when it came out there the following year. It received wide critical acclaim; a decade later Rolling Stone magazine declared it the best album of the 1980s.

The Clash's style and rebellious attitude, along with their music, had a far-reaching influence on rock, alternative rock in particular. Their record label's A&R director dubbed them "The Only British Band That Matters," which fans picked up and transformed into "The Only Band That Matters". In January 2003 they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The band wanted to play at the event, but were prevented by Joe Strummer's death in December 2002. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked The Clash #30 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.

London Calling (live)



Should I Stay Or Should I Go? (live)



(Nothing Follows)

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

surprised you didn't mention rock the casbah. Of all the clash' songs, this seems most appropriate for this blog.Twenty years ago, the clash were allowed to be "culturally insensitive" and dare criticize the ayatollah. I wonder if they would get away with it today.
Besides it was their best song, IMHO.

Jack Lacton said...

I should have made mention of it, of course.

All versions of it on Youtube that were of acceptable quality had embedding disabled so I couldn't include it here.

I like London Calling the best but Rock The Casbah is a classic tune.